ANDREWS- The last fire season was intense for everyone in West Texas and some towns are starting to prepare for this year. They are trying to implement new rules that would help prevent large fires from spreading to homes. NewsWest9 went to Andrews to find out what new ordinance the town is thinking of approving to try and clear out some mesquite.
"We are just looking at different options that we have. Either to maybe eliminate that mesquite growth or at least create some firebreaks that would make things safer for homeowners and firefighters that would have to fight the fires, " Andrews City Manager, Glen Hackler, said.
The City of Andrews is trying to work up a new ordinance that would clear mesquite fields. Previous fires in some vacant lots have caused some damage to homes in the city.
"The reality is when you have these 40, 50, 60 mile an hour winds and it goes through mesquite and high grasses rapidly. We have a potential to lose subdivisions of homes and that puts people at risk, it puts firefighters at risk," Hackler said.
Last year, a vacant lot full of mesquite caught on fire. The fire later jumped the road and destroyed a mobile home. These are the kind of events that the City Council wants to prevent in the future and they want to help landowners with the cost of clearing the land.
"What we would do is we would actually take some of our excess sales tax proceeds and put it towards this project," Hackler said.
Contractors have estimated a cost of $40,000 to clear out about 100 acres of mesquite trees. The city plans on helping landowners pay for half of the cost. All of these plans are still being looked at closely by city officials.
"We are actually going to meet with the representatives of the Texas Forest Service next week along with our fire department and Fire Marshal. We are just going to talk about what our options are and hopefully take something to the City Council next week," Hackler said.
