Flower Mound’s historic namesake caught fire Tuesday afternoon, but firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze before it spread to the surrounding homes in the area.
The Flower Mound Fire Department responded to reports of a brush fire at the town’s historic Flower Mound just before 4 p.m. on September 19.
Residents living in the homes surrounding the burning mound experienced some tense moments as they watched the fire creep closer to their neighborhood.
Photos taken by local residents showed massive plumes of black smoke rising from the burning area.
The Flower Mound Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the historic site, reposted footage of a man who lives near the mound using a water hose to ward off the flames as they edged closer to his property.
Vicki Peters, another Flower Mound resident, posted an image of the smoke-filled air as flames approached her home.
The Flower Mound FD reported that it managed to contain the wildfire within an hour of its initial response.
“The fire did cause small damage to the deck of a nearby home, but thankfully, the majority of the surrounding structures were undamaged,” the Flower Mound FD said in a Facebook post. “Fire investigators are still working to determine a cause.”
The Flower Mound Foundation posted aerial images of the blackened landscape after the fire was contained. Although no cause has been officially revealed yet, the foundation suggested that the blaze may have been started by a crew working along a retaining wall.
“It just takes one spark when it’s so dry. We had plans for a controlled burn this winter, and this one burned hotter and faster than we would have liked,” the foundation said in a Facebook post. “But the roots of prairie plants grow very deep, 10′ or more, and this will be a good example of the resiliency of native prairie.”
The town’s namesake is an approximately 12-acre “native Tall Grass Prairie segment of the Great American Black Land Prairie,” according to the foundation. Early settlers gave the town the name Flower Mound in the 1840s due to the large amount of wildflowers growing in the area.
The Texas State Historical Commission approved The Flower Mound as a State of Texas Historic site in January 1984.
The Flower Mound Foundation anticipates that showers and storms over the fall and winter will help rejuvenate the burned historical site.
“Here’s to hoping we get all the rain they promised this winter (wetter than normal is the prediction), and the prairie should come bounding back this spring. We’re afraid you’ll be looking at a blackened Mound for a while, though,” said the foundation.
Flower Mound FD also reminded citizens that Denton County is still under a mandatory burn ban.
