Crews Battle Fire At Recycling Yard In East Denton
DENTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Crews battled a large fire at a recycling yard in east Denton near 380 and Trinity Road. Firefighters also battled the Texas heat and a water shortage.
Denton County Fire Marshal Jody Gonzalez said a recycling yard caught on fire, and it was contained. He said 12 fire departments were on hand to battle the blaze with about 50 to 60 firefighters were at the scene at one point.
According to the fire marshal, there were no reported injuries.
The fire turned into a structure fire after a building in the middle of the yard caught fire. Denton Fire Chief David Boots believes it may have been a warehouse.
"You could hear the crackling of the burning wood just falling," said witness Stacie Falbo.
On the other side of the highway, people watched firefighters tackle the flames. The fire chief says the lack of fire hydrants was challenging.
"Six water tenders have come in from neighboring departments to help us. Lots of brush trucks to attack brush fires. Obviously, heat's been a factor today," said Boots.
Exploding ammunition inside the building also forced firefighters to scale back until it was safe.
"We heard a little explosion while we were back there," said witness Alton Ganslen.
Brush trucks were able to keep the fire from spreading to nearby RV's that housed families.
According to officials, the dry weather has created a dangerous recipe for fires.
"The hotter it is, the drier it is, the windier it is like today, it's going to be busy for us," said Boots.
Investigators are still looking into what started the fire.
Thick, black smoke could be seen from a CBS 11 weather camera looking over Apogee Stadium at the University of North Texas in the afternoon.
Denton police tweeted the fire was near a flea market, and smoke was visible from several miles away.
