Cigarette Butt Sparks Latest Texas Grass Fire

Jan. 18, 2006
Homeowners used hoses, frantically trying to keep flames from engulfing their homes.

Investigators blame a cigarette butt for sparking a large grass fire near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

It took airport firefighters about two hours to get the blaze under control Tuesday afternoon.

The huge plume of smoke was visible for miles.

The fire caused incoming and outgoing flights to be diverted to different runways, and forced minimal alterations to flight schedules, according to an airport spokesman.

The grass fire on the north side of the airport also caused one lane of an airport service road to be closed down to airport vehicles.

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Firefighters from the airport's fire unit brought the blaze "largely under control" by about 4 p.m., according to David Magana, spokesman for D/FW Airport. He said airport officials had not yet estimated the amount of land burned by the fire.

Johnson County

A 40-acre grass fire threatened homes in Johnson County while another moved through a park near Lake Benbrook Tuesday afternoon.

Homeowners used hoses, frantically trying to keep flames from engulfing their homes on Gentle Springs in Joshua, located about one mile east of Joshua High School.

Some yards were completely charred, but the brick homes were spared.

High winds also fueled flames at Holiday Park on the west side of Lake Benbrook.

The fire broke out Tuesday afternoon in the 11500 block of Lake View.

Fort Worth Fires

The Fort Worth Fire Department battled two grass fires that broke out late Tuesday morning in south Fort Worth.

The fires charred an area at Hemphill and Alta Mesa, near Interstates 20 and 35W.

One of the fires was not far from homes, though no homes were threatened.

Copyright 2006 by nbc5i.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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