Fire officials believe that a fire at Loop 288 and Elm Street on Thursday afternoon was started by a trailer that disengaged from the vehicle towing it and created sparks as it rolled to a stop, dragging its hitch along the pavement.
Brad Lahart, spokesman for the Denton Fire Department, said the fire started about 3:30 p.m. and burned between 150 and 200 acres before it was contained less than an hour later.
“At this time, we know of no large structures that were involved,” Lahart said Thursday. “We were concerned with keeping the fire away from homes.”
Denton asked for help from area departments such as Ponder, Sanger, Aubrey and Pilot Point to ensure the flames were contained quickly and for extra firefighters because of the afternoon heat that reached 99 degrees.
Lahart said firefighters would remain on the scene for several hours putting out hot spots and breaking up bales of hay that had ignited.
Denton Fire Marshal Rick Jones said firefighters responded to several grass fires in recent days, with more than a dozen that could be attributed to fireworks.
DONNA FIELDER can be reached at 940-566-6885. Her e-mail address is dfielder@dentonrc.com.
