The City of Fort Worth is making changes to its mowing procedures after this week's tragedy in Balch Springs.
Amid the ongoing hot, dry conditions, Fort Worth's Stormwater Field Operations is shutting down its large mowers for the time being.
"With what happened in Balch Springs, we are being more cautious," said Juan Cadena, operations officer for streets and stormwater operations. "And we decided we better hold up on our large machinery mowing."
The department will only use hand-held equipment like string trimmers, pole saws, and chainsaws to control vegetation growth near drainage areas.
"We're doing what smaller areas we can do without having to use the larger mowers," Cadena said.
Whereas it's customary for those workers to bring fire extinguishers with them, they're normally kept inside the trucks.
Now, those extinguishers will be close by.
"What I've directed our crews is to physically have them out of the truck and near the worksite when we are doing things that could potentially spark and create a fire," Cadena said.
These changes come in the wake of this week's massive fire in Balch Springs which was started when a mower's blade hit a piece of debris and kicked off a spark.
These changes will remain in effect until further notice.
"Depends on how long this heat and dry spell holds out," Cadena said. "It may be a few weeks (or) it may be a month or so. We're not sure."
Fort Worth's Parks and Recreation Department, meanwhile, will only mow areas that are irrigated and actively growing.
When mowing rocky terrain to create fire fuel break areas, mower decks will be raised and spotters will be onsite.
The department is also installing fire extinguishers on all vehicles and equipment.
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