Dozens of firefighters battled a large brush fire in far north Fort Worth on Saturday afternoon, and fire officials hope it's not a sign of things to come.
A breeze coupled with hot, dry weather -- the temperature was 97 at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport at 5 p.m. -- produced ripe conditions for the grass fire, which started about 3:15 p.m.
About a half-hour later, nine fire departments were called to a blaze that burned 10 acres and 50 cars in a junkyard near Northlake.
The fire in north Fort Worth rolled through a pasture east of Interstate 35W, between Heritage Trace Parkway and Golden Triangle Boulevard, said Lt. Kent Worley, a spokesman for the Fort Worth Fire Department. Officials said the blaze, which was started by a spark from an electric pole, burned 400 to 500 acres.
No one was injured, and the blaze did not threaten any houses or businesses.
Officials warned people to be particularly careful with items that light or spark.
"Leftover fireworks -- forget it," said Alan Moller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Fort Worth office.
"Don't throw cigarettes out the window. Snuff them out in the car.
"If you toss something on fire into the wrong area, you can start a nasty fire that can do a lot of harm. People need to steer clear of that."
The conditions likely won't be much better today, with highs near 100 and winds at 5 to 10 mph, Moller said. There is a chance of rain this week, but it won't be widespread.
No one was injured in the Northlake fire.
Firefighters worked for nearly three hours to control the blaze, which was near a mobile-home park and Northwest Regional Airport, said Tom Reedy, spokesman for the Denton County Sheriff's Department.
No evacuations were necessary.
