Another grass fire threatens homes

NEAR LA JOYA - C.J. Moreno drove across thick brush as the strong winds fanned the flames of yet another grass fire against the side of his truck Wednesday night.

The assistant Hidalgo County Emergency Management coordinator clutched the steering wheel tight, peering through the heavy smoke as the cab began to swell with heat from flames that threatened to consume the grasses that sizzling under his tires.

As Moreno inched forward, navigating the encroaching fire and the deep ruts in the sandy dirt, a La Joya fire truck carrying gallons of water emerged to battle the flames that - at about 9:55 p.m. - were now close to threatening at least two homes in a colonia near Tom Gill Road and Date Palm Drive.

"Is it holding?" Hidalgo County Emergency Management Coordinator Tony Peña yelled to Moreno after he abruptly stopped a few hundred feet past, where if the wind picked up just right, the blaze might have swelled beyond control.
Moreno looked back as the La Joya volunteer fireman worked to put out the flames.

"Yeah, it's holding," he replied to his boss. "That was a close one, man."

Wednesday night, strong winds exceeding 25 miles per hour quickly fanned a fire across an open field strewn with debris area residents had casually discarded at this illegal dump site. About 44 acres were burned.

Authorities suspect the fire, which threatened eight homes, was deliberately set. 

It was the latest blaze in a cruel fire season - typically the dry months from winter to spring - that never seems to end. The Rio Grande Valley has been hit hard in recent months as La Niña weather conditions have brought above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation.

High winds and low humidity have exacerbated the problem.

Late Wednesday night it was unclear what started the fire. About 9:20, Jose Celedon stood on the south side of the fire looking across charred ground at a fire line more than a half mile long that looked as though a Vietnam-era war plane had dropped napalm to consume the vegetation.

"This is terrible," he said, adding that he first noticed the fire about 6 p.m.

"It's spreading like it's nothing," his 16-year-old son Josiah Celedon added.

Back on the north side of the fire shortly after 10 p.m. Peña surveyed the flames that leapt easily more than 15 feet into the sky. This was all too familiar for Peña as he barked orders into a radio.

Since December, wildfires, typically on remote ranchland, seemed to spark almost weekly. Emergency responders from cities across the Valley worked together to battle one blaze after another. The Valley's most destructive fire this year burned March 18 to 19, when high winds fanned flames across more than 41 square miles in northern Hidalgo County, scorching an area the size of McAllen.

Peña was the default coordinator for battling wildfires throughout the season. Working with fire chiefs from every Hidalgo County fire agency and several other Valley departments, Peña helped coordinate efforts that saved countless homes.

Wednesday night was no different as Peña directed crews from La Joya, Alton, Mission, McAllen, Sullivan City and Palmview.

"Luckily I have two sips of coffee left from this morning," he said as he drove across the blackened ground to survey the remnants of the fire.

Early Thursday morning, the fire was under control, Peña said. No one was injured and all the homes were saved.
A burn ban remains in effect for Hidalgo County through July 6, and Wednesday night was just another reminder of how dry the grasses still are.

But relief might be in sight as there is a 30 percent chance of rain Friday, according to the National Weather Service in Brownsville. The threat of rain will remain throughout the weekend.

Juan Martinez, a deputy fire marshal for Hidalgo County, looked over the remnants of the fire just before 10:30 p.m. as he pondered the fire season and warned that the potential for trouble still exist.

"The fire season is not over," he said.

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Sean Gaffney covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.