Most evacuated residents able to return following large grass fire near Inks Lake park

BURNET COUNTY, Texas - The cause of a large grass fire in Burnet County near Inks Lake is now being released.

Officials believe machinery sparked tall grass causing it to ignite near county road 116.

The fire quickly burned over 550 acres causing dozens of home and park guests to evacuate.

No injuries reported at this time.

Crews say the fire is at least 60% contained and do not believe it will grow any larger.
At this time the park is closed.

While most people are now able to return to their homes there are some areas still under an evacuation order. 

“Saw the flames they were extremely high the smoke was as black as it can be,” said David Morgan who was one of the many who had to evacuate when a large grass fire broke out just down the road.

“Extremely worries that the fire would climb up the hill here and engulf our entire subdivision here,” said Morgan. As crews worked to battle the blaze, Morgan said he couldn’t sleep as he wondered about the fate of his neighborhood.

“I kept waking up and checking to see if I could smell smoke or see any reoccurrence of the fire redeveloping again,” said Morgan.

From helicopters to fire trucks crews spent Monday getting a hand on the 550 acre blaze.

“There’s still a lot of mop up with the fire to keep the containment where it’s at,” said Andy NeSmith the

Florida forest service spokes person whose helping central Texas firefighters.

With how dry it’s been officials are urging people to be extra cautious with their vehicles or machinery around grass because any sort of spark can ignite it and spread pretty quickly. NeSmith said they believe some kind of machinery on private property ignited some tall dry grass.

Many homeowners like Morgan are now able to return home. Park guests were also able to return briefly only to grab what they left before the evacuation.

“The biggest thing was it was moving pretty quickly the wind were starting to pick up so we didn’t much care for the tent it’s just material so we got out of there before they closed all the roads,” said Justin Harvey a camper who had to evacuate.

With how dry it’s been across the state this summer, NeSmith said many agencies are looking to be one step ahead of any potential fire threats.

“They’ve brought in resources and they stage them in certain areas across the state which gives a faster response to get to the fires when they do start,” said NeSmith.

As crews continue to fight the fire, Morgan said he is great full to them as he now has a home to return to.

Crews will be out all night containing the fire.

No reports of any campsites being burned. The park will remain closed until further notice.