Cleburne
Residents report various levels of storm, damage
Forget lightning and lighter fluid.
Lightning and saltwater don’t mix well either.
Eight fire units from Godley and Cresson battled a lingering blaze on County Road 1000 in Cresson on Monday night after lightning reportedly struck a fiberglass tank at a saltwater disposal site.
Of 18 total tanks, five were lost, according to Godley firefighter John Sweet.
“When one catches fire, the others catch fire,” Sweet said. “There’s a drip in the top [of the tank]. It’s actually the drip that catches fire. The saltwater still has a little bit of gas in it [from the gas well]. There was probably an explosion when the lightning hit, but we didn’t see it or hear it.”
Godley firefighters were called out at 8:15 p.m. Monday. Cresson firefighters were still on the scene Tuesday morning. Godley sent five units and Cresson three.
“Texas Energy hauled some water to us in tankers,” Sweet said.
Torrential rains didn’t put a dent in the blaze.
“The fire burned so hot that the rain didn’t do much good,” Sweet said. “It would be nice if Mother Nature put them out after starting them, but it doesn’t work that way.”
Cresson weather watcher Charlotte Huffman, who resides south of town on Old Granbury Road, reported 1.7 inches of rain.
“We had plenty of lightning and some wind but no hail,” she said.
Elsewhere in Johnson County, rain gauge readings ranged from 1.41 in Cleburne to 2.5 in Joshua.
Ronnie Galbreath, who lives on Farm-to-Market Road 917 west of Joshua, reported 2.5 inches.
“I emptied the rain gauge before the school board meeting last night and checked it [Tuesday] morning,” he said. “My driveway was flooded when I got home [Monday night]. It had four or five inches of water, deepest it’s ever been.”
Brenda Marbut, who resides northeast of Rio Vista, reported 1.5 inches.
“We didn’t get any wind or hail, just rain,” she said. “The worst of it was between 8 and 9 [Monday night].”
Mrs. James Roden, who lives on FM 2258 in Grandview, also reported 1.5 inches.
“The wind blew pretty good, but I didn’t hear any hail,” she said. “The rain didn’t last all that long.”
Gayle White, who resides in southwest Cleburne, reported 1.41 inches.
Cleburne Municipal Airport lost power Monday night and was unable to report rain and wind readings.
Gauges 1.1 miles northwest of Burleson took in .9 inches from Monday to 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Johnson County Sheriff’s Office patrol officers had their hands busy. Donna Young, sergeant over dispatch, joined three dispatchers to take a flood of calls between 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.
“I haven’t been told of any water rescues Monday night,” patrol division Capt. Mike Gilbert said. “We did have some downed power lines in the northwest part of the county. That was first reported as a garage that blew into a house. We had a lot of downed trees, water damage and power outages. We redirected a lot of traffic.
“We were obviously real busy. We had seven [patrol officers] in the evening and five at midnight.”
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