CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Low humidity, drought conditions and high winds are what Emergency Services District #2 Fire Chief, Dale Scott called "a recipe for disaster."
A disaster area firefighters have been facing frequently over the past several months.
Chief Scott says there have been 25 grass fires so far this year. At this time last year, there were 19. That is a 30% increase.
Wind is a major factor and on Wednesday wind gusts reached around 30 mph.
"They move very very fast." Scott said. "The embers can fly up to half a mile away from you and start additional fires so it's pretty intense."
Not only can the wind start additional fires, it causes fire to spread quickly which makes the fire even more difficult to defeat.
That was the case with the fire in the area of the Crosstown Extension and County Road 22 Tuesday night.
Around midnight, high winds knocked down a power line in the area of the Crosstown Extension and County Road 22. That sparked a brush fire that also burned an abandoned house nearby.
And on Monday near Bill Witt Park, over 30 acres were scorched, leaving nearby homeowners, like Andrew Robles, concerned.
"It was kind of a surprise, we don't really know what caused the fire to happen." Robles said. "Something like that, knowing that it's an open field, it's a little concerning because there is quite a bit of dry land out there."
Scott says if you have brush near your home, to keep a 50 foot area around your home mowed, to slow down or even stop the fire.
"I would say there's gonna be more. It's the beginning of the season so we're probably gonna be pretty busy all summer." Scott said.
