ELLIS COUNTY, Texas – Fire crews worked to put out grassfires in the counties of Kaufman and Ellis Friday.
Telico grassfire
What we know:
A grassfire in the Ellis County community of Telico quickly spread across a group of family properties Friday afternoon.Â
The Ellis County Fire Marshal said he’s working on getting a burn ban incorporated in the next week or so. He said there were several fires in the county Friday, and more in the past couple of weeks.Â
Cheryl Hamill was not home at the time, but others were. The fire was in the middle of their family compound of five homes.
What they’re saying:
“Let me tell you, as soon as I heard about it I started praying,” Hamill said.
“I mean, we were very concerned that if it reached the propane tank, like, what could’ve happened?” resident Haley Phillips said.
The fire has been deemed an accident, sparking while a couple of family members were welding along a fence line.
“They said that they had like the water bucket and they had the fire extinguisher, but it just got out of control before they knew what to do,” Phillips said.
Fortunately, these families only experienced damage to grass and a shed. Hammill says it’s an answer to prayer.
“He sent a couple of angels, some neighbors over to help,” she said.
She’s talking about neighbors coming to the rescue, using machinery to build a firewall of dirt and debris, assisting firefighters.
“So this was a true team effort between community members, the fire department, etc. and the good Lord,” Hammill said.Â
Kemp grassfire 
Sky 4 video shows another grassfire in the Kaufman County city of Kemp Friday afternoon, about 30 miles east of the Ellis County fire.
Kemp fire crews were seen helping put out the flames shortly before 2 p.m.
Possible early fire season
In North Texas, there’s summer and winter fire season. The winter season usually begins in January, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service, but this year it appears to be coming early because of a summer with more than usual amounts of rain.Â
FOX 4 spoke Friday with Adam Turner, who works with the Forest Service.
“All of that moisture, all of that rain was great. It kept the summer a little bit cooler,” Turner said.
Summer rains created more material to burn.
“Well, with all of that grass growth and all of that extra rain we had, a lot of what we call fuel — that’s the grass, the trees, the brush — everything grew up a little bit more than it usually does,” Turner said.
The Forest Service wants to remind people that 90 percent of grassfires are caused by humans.Â
The Source: Information in this article comes from FOX 4 interviews with residents and the Texas A&M Forest Service.