HOUSTON — The Houston Fire Department has pulled its crews who were working a large fire at a three-acre construction site in Spring Branch, and said it could burn another day or two.
HFD said a private mitigation company has been hired to extinguish the fire in the 2200 block of Hollister Road by using heavy equipment.
That's not what neighbors who live nearby wanted to hear. They said the fire has been burning off and on since Saturday and they're concerned about the smoke and ash. There are homes right across the street and the site isn't far from an elementary school.
“There's a bunch of ash in my backyard and my house smells like smoke,” Reagan Hutson told us Monday night. “I mean, they say it's controlled I'm just trying to find out the facts.”
Firefighters responded to the site again on Monday to bring the fire under control. HFD said the burning piles consist of large mulch, tree debris, logs stacked up to 15 feet high and live trees.
On Tuesday, the fire department said it could be Thursday morning before the fire is completely out.
Houston City Councilmember Amy Peck put out a statement on X after getting complaints.
"This is not a typical fire that can be extinguished with water. It is a "wildland urban interface fire" that has to be treated differently from a regular fire," she said. "Although hundreds of thousands of gallons of water have been used so far, all the water does is cool the top layer of the tree/debris while the rest of the layers burn."
The crews hired by the mitigation company will have to use heavy machinery to break up the materials.
Peck said Spring Branch ISD police are working with HFD to make sure all students at nearby Cedar Brook Elementary are safe.
The Houston Health Department is monitoring the air quality which was within the healthy range as of the last report. Health officials said the wind will help blow the smoke out of the area.
Officials said for now, there is no shelter in place or need to evacuate.