Collinsville Crews Stop Two August Grass Fires; Reported Hay-Rake Cause Unconfirmed

Collinsville firefighters put out two grass fires near Collinsville in August and reported no injuries in either call, according to the Collinsville Fire Department's own accounts. Grayson County remains under a burn ban that covers Collinsville and Whitesboro, and the restrictions do not stop at the county line: Cooke County has prohibited all outdoor burning since Aug. 10, according to the county's homepage.

The Aug. 24 call was on Batey Road, east of Collinsville. The department said the first caller reported flames moving rapidly and threatening nearby residential structures. Collinsville requested Whitesboro Fire Department resources, citing extreme temperatures, dry conditions and fire behavior that was building fast. Crews from both towns brought the fire under control and worked the hot spots, and nearby structures were protected, the department said.

Eleven days earlier, Station 71 contained and extinguished a grass fire at Westline Road and Lynch Crossing before it spread further, again with no injuries reported, according to the department.

Accounts circulating online tie a recent Collinsville-area grass fire to a malfunctioning hay rake and describe several burned acres and ten burning hay bales. GvilleTX could not match those details to a Grayson County record or to a first-party statement from the fire department; they trace back to a news story. Neither department post reviewed by this newsroom named a cause. Determining the origin and cause of fires in unincorporated Grayson County, and in cities that request mutual aid, falls to the Grayson County Fire Marshal's Office.

Equipment operation is one of the fire-cause categories the Texas A&M Forest Service tracks and uses to aim its prevention messaging, alongside campfires and debris burning, which the agency calls the leading cause of wildfire statewide. The agency has Texas at Wildfire Preparedness Level 3. Its Aug. 31 outlook called for stronger winds along and north of Interstate 20 across North Texas and the Cross Timbers, over fuels it described as dry to critically dry, with hot, dry weather returning by the weekend.

The pressure is not only local. National Interagency Fire Center figures for Jan. 1 through Sept. 3 show roughly twice the acreage burned nationwide as by the same date last year, on about 5,000 more fires. Denton County is under a mandatory burn ban, and Fannin County under a burn-ban order.

Grayson County's policy describes outdoor-burning prohibitions as a step to reduce wildfire threat during drought. Residents are asked to call GCSO Dispatch at 903-813-4411 before burning, both to learn whether it is allowed and to register the burn. County rules require a burn to be attended at all times, bar burning when winds run or are forecast at 23 mph or higher, and leave the responsible party liable for damages. Departments may bill for responses to fires that were not in compliance. The county's standing advice for rural homes is to keep about 50 feet mowed around the house and outbuildings.