A grass fire broke out about 2 p.m. Monday in an area between the United States Gypsum road entrance and railroad tracks leading to the plant.

Local firefighters quickly arrived on scene and subdued the blaze before it could spread further.

Sweetwater assistant fire chief John Pollard said that USG has a private locomotive service to transport sheetrock out of the plant and it is likely that a spark put off by the train’s wheels started the fire.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve had fires in that area or alongside other train tracks because of wheels putting off sparks,” Pollard said.

Though the fire is believed to have been started by the mechanical sparking, dry conditions likely also played a factor as Sweetwater has received just over half an inch of rain in July. For the year, there has been over 18 inches of rain reported. “When you factor in the dry weather we’ve had lately, it was bound to happen.

These kind of fires just occur every now and then,” said Pollard. “Thankfully, we arrived on scene only about 10 minutes or so after the fire started and we were able to put it out before anybody got hurt or any personal property was damaged. But it certainly goes to show you how fast a fire can spread.”

Nolan County is not currently under a burn ban, but for their own safety, citizens are urged to notify the fire department about the time and location before conducting any controlled burns on their property.