Barth fire: 150-acre Lockhart grass fire 100 percent contained

LOCKHART, Texas - Crews have fully contained a 150-acre grass fire in Lockhart near SH 130, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

Crews will continue to monitor the fire. Officials say it will likely be three to four days before it will be considered controlled.

Smoke from the fire could be seen from US 183.

As of Friday evening, officials say forward progression has stopped.

Fire crews say a small number of structures were threatened, prompting a few evacuations, but those have been lifted.

Among those evacuated was Lockhart resident Jimmy Welvaert's friend.

"They were kind of a nervous wreck, as you can imagine," he said.

Multiple agencies had resources in the air and on the ground. No word on the cause of the fire.

"Fire behavior's laid down and smoke behavior's a lot less," Walter Flocke, public information officer for the Texas A&M Forest Service, said Friday afternoon.

Crews worked through the afternoon and evening to dig the containment line, which is a line in the soil that the fire can't burn past.

"Under the critical fire weather we've been having, it takes longer to reach that containment because we can't leave anything up to chance," Flocke said. "After it reaches 100 percent containment, we're sure those lines will hold, it gets extinguished when there's no heat, no smoke at all, usually that's a few days later."

Officials are also reminding everyone to be mindful as the hot conditions continue.

"We're still forecasting significant fire potential for this area for the coming week at least," Flocke said. "Please be careful with anything that can cause a spark."

"I think all you can do is put your trust in God, and pray for rain," Welvaert said.

Multiple roads were shut down due to the fire:

• Both southbound and northbound lanes of SH 130 are shut down;
• US 183/Colorado Street from FM 2001 to Lockhart City Limits were shut down both ways, but have since been reopened.