RICHMOND, TX (Covering Katy News)—The Fort Bend County Fire Marshal's Office expects it'll be several more days before firefighters can extinguish a mulch fire at Frank's Nursery in Richmond.
Fire crews responded on Friday afternoon to 302 FM 359 near 90A. Finding the exact location of where the mulch was burning required additional assistance.
"Fort Bend County Hazmat Response was dispatched at 4:58 p.m. to assist with flying a drone to locate hot spots and monitoring air quality in the adjacent neighborhoods," a Fort Bend County Fire Marshal's Office statement said. Fire Crews returned on Saturday and requested additional resources to move the mulch and make the fire easier to extinguish.
"Large equipment was used to attempt to reach the fire source that was located deep inside the pile," the statement from public information officer Mary Staff said.
Shortly before 8 p.m., the fire "flared significantly," which caused a request for mutual aid from other fire departments that could transport water to the scene.
Fire crews have been working around the clock to cool the pile. As of Sunday night, the fire was still burning.
"Due to the size of the mulch pile, it will continue to burn and likely take 2 to 3 days to burn down," the statement said. "Fort Bend County Hazmat Response Team will continue to monitor air quality in areas affected by the smoke."
Responding fire departments include Richmond, Pecan Grove, Sugar Land, Rosenberg, Northeast, Willowfork, Community, Stafford, and Fulshear. Also responding were the Fort Bend County Hazmat Response, Fort Bend County Road & Bridge, and Fort Bend County Homeland Security and Emergency Management.