Fire burns at approximately 400 acres of land in the Silver Heels areaLocal resident Leonard Watkins sifts through the wreckage of his home on Curry Street south of Big Spring after a fire swept through the area Thursday evening, destroying approximately 400 acres. (HERALD photo/Thomas Jenkins)
By STEVE REAGAN
Staff Writer
In the past few weeks, Howard County has literally become a tinderbox — and the match was lit again Thursday.
At least two homes were destroyed when a fire of unknown origin burned at approximately 400 acres of land in the Silver Heels area south of Big Spring Thursday afternoon. No injuries were reported.  Above, a Forestry Service helicopter refills its 1,200-gallon tank at Comanche Trail Lake before rejoining the battle against a brush fire south of Big Spring Thursday;below, the fire rages east of Highway 87. (Photos by Artis McCasland and Steve Reagan) 
Officials are trying to determine the cause of the fire which started in a barrow ditch by South Highway 87 about five miles south of Big Spring.
Tommy Sullivan, chief of the Howard County Volunteer Fire Department, said extremely dry conditions meant finding a specific cause to the fire would be difficult.
“The humidity was at 1 percent (Thursday). I’ve never seen it that low,” Sullivan said. “That means almost anything could have set the fire off — car exhaust, a cigarette, even a piece of grass with the sun hitting it just right.”
Sullivan said the fire spread quickly, fueled by plenty of dry grass and brush and pushed by a brisk wind and threatened several residential areas in the vicinity.
In response, a total of 84 firefighters from the county, Big Spring, Glasscock and Martin counties and Westbrook — joined by strike teams and aerial units from the State Forestry Service — worked feverishly to “box in” the fire and limit its damage.
Even private concerns pitched in. Sullivan said Price Construction provided bulldozers to help build fire breaks and several area oil companies provided much-needed water trucks.
Sullivan, whose exhausted crews have been battling multiple fires on a daily basis for weeks, welcomed the additional help.
“I sure was glad to see them,” he said. “It was amazing how everyone pitched in to fight this thing.”
With Forestry Service aircraft dropping retardant on the fire from above, bulldozers and other heavy machinery creating fire breaks and firefighters dousing flames with water and foam, the blaze was effectively contained after a few hours.
The fire advanced as far as Chaparral Road before it was eventually stopped, Sullivan said. Three HCVFD units remained on the scene throughout the night on the watch for “hot spots.”
One trailer home was destroyed and Sullivan noted that a house under construction also was leveled.
A question that needs to be asked is just how long overworked firefighters can keep up this pace — and it’s a question without a ready answer, Sullivan conceded.
“That’s what we’re asking ourselves,” he said. “But that’s where the pride factor kicks in. We’ve got a job to do, and we’re going to keep on doing it.”
Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331, ext. 234 or by e-mail at
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