A large grass fire engulfed a pumpkin patch in Texas on Saturday, destroying 73 vehicles in the monstrous blaze, according to the farm’s Facebook page.
The fire broke out at the Robinson Family Farm, a patch in Temple, Texas, that regularly hosts visitors. While the farm portion of the patch was not affected by the fire, the grass parking lot went up in smoke.
According to Bell County (Texas) Fire Marshall Chris Mahlstedt, who spoke to local reporters, firefighters were able to control the blaze and put out the fire a few hours after it began. A discarded cigarette thrown into dry grass is being considered as a possible start to the fire, according to Mahlstedt.
Mahlstedt told The San Antonio Express-News no one was seriously hurt in the incident, but four firefighters and two visitors were treated for non-life-threatening, heat-related injuries.
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Video footage from Waco, Texas television station KCEN News (NBC 6) showed black smoke consuming the entire car lot. Some people are seen rushing to cars, while most others are seen fleeing to safety. Later footage and photos of the cars in the aftermath of the fire show vehicles completely burnt down to metal remains.
“We saw black smoke, and we’re like, something legit is on fire,” eye-witness Kat Cabana, who saw her car destroyed by the fire, told Dallas television station WFAA (ABC 8). “You could hear glass exploding, what I assume was tires popping, exploding, people’s gas tanks exploding. The wind was taking the smoke and making it bigger and bigger.”
Bell County, where the fire took place, is currently under a burn ban because of extreme drought and heat conditions.
According to its website, the Robinson Family Farm is family owned and opens seasonally for Easter, a pumpkin patch and for precut Christmas tree sales.
