Farm fire

Investigations are underway after a grass fire burned on Texas A&M property on F&B Road near the Dairy Center Monday afternoon. There were no injuries to people or animals, and the fire was extinguished before it reached any buildings.

Three units from College Station Fire Department (CSFD), three from the Bryan Fire Department and five volunteer fire units were dispatched at 2:49 p.m., said Bart Humphreys, public information officer for the CSFD. Twenty-five fire personnel were used at the scene.

"We got the fire under control at 4:01 p.m.," Humphreys said. "It burned across part of the pasture and into the woods. Because of the hot, dry weather the area has been experiencing for many days, vegetation is very dry and the grass fire was rapidly spreading."

CSFD representatives reported between 15 and 25 acres of grass burned.

The fire commissioners will meet Tuesday to determine whether to institute a burn ban, said Searcy Tolliver, a communications specialist with the Brazos County Dispatch. Because it has been several weeks since it last rained, the ban will likely be instituted, she said.

A burn ban would outlaw the burning of trash, the use of fireworks and other outside burnings.

Humphreys said the cause of the fire is undetermined.

"It appears to be accidental," he said. "There is a lot of construction in the area - maybe it was from construction."

Because the fire was on A&M property, the investigation to find its cause will be conducted by the Environmental Health and Safety Department. Officials from the department were unavailable for comment on Monday afternoon.

The fire came a week after contractors ruptured a gas line that caused a gas leak on F&B Road. The road has been closed to traffic to make improvements and to accommodate extra traffic that two new buildings on the road will bring.