Mayor requests limited water usage; CR 220 fire now under control

Marlin Mayor Carolyn Lofton requested residents to limit water usage during yesterday's fire on County Road 220.

"We are asking all citizens to please limit water usage," Lofton said in a statement. "Due to the ongoing fire fighting efforts, a strain is being put on the city lake. All citizens are encouraged to only use water for bathing, drinking and food preparation. This means that we are asking all to not to water your lawns, not wash clothes, or complete any other task that can wait until the fire is under control."

The Mayor is reaching out to the Governor’s office for assistance at this time.

As of 9:30 p.m. the fire was approximately 95 percent contained according to the Texas Forest Service.

Marlin Volunteer Fire Department said the fire is out and there is just a little bit of stuff smoldering. 

"We are the largest volunteer fire department in Falls County and we have a lot of trucks, but we could not have got this fire under control without the help of everyone that came out and assisted us today," MVFD stated on their Facebook page. "The initial fire appears to have started from a tree rubbing a power line which caused a shed to catch fire. The area that the fire spread to was heavily wooded and the wind caused the fire to spread quickly. Thankfully no homes were lost and no one was injured. I will get a complete list of all agencies that responded in a post tomorrow. It’s been a long day folks. Thank You to the people that came out and brought us food, cookies, water, Gatorade and words of encouragement."