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Bexar County commissioners this week approved the $1 million purchase of a bulldozer to protect rural subdivisions from wildfires.
County residents love to ring in the New Year with fireworks, which are legal in the county. But the sparks they create can also pose a wildfire risk.
Precinct 4 County Commissioner Tommy Calvert has seen a number of new housing developments spring up in former pastures in his precinct.
"We're in severe drought, so we've got to be ready for anything, especially coming up on the January, New Year kind of time frame," said Calvert.
Mike Morlan—a deputy fire chief with the county's office of emergency management— said the dozer can plow up a line of defense between personnel and the fires they battle.
"The challenge is when we're trying to create additional defensible space for those fires, and which we currently don't have," said Morlan.
Two large wildfires tore through South Bexar County this year. And some nearby homes had to be evacuated.
