Crane County fire

CRANE COUNTY A grass fire gave an orange aura to the twilight Tuesday as it burned about 200 acres south of Interstate 20 near FM 1053.

West Odessa and Crane firefighters went through miles of soft dirt trails to fight the remote grassfire, West Odessa volunteer firefighter Mike Malone said.

By 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, the fire was 75 percent contained, Malone said, and he expected the fire-fighters to have it controlled by early Wednesday morning.

Firefighters were first called to the fire at 8:27 p.m. The glow of the flames was visible from Penwell and winds were causing the fire to spread in two directions.

Initially, Malone said they were concerned of the fire's northward spread and they tried to cut it off before the smoke could reach the highway. An occasional rubber-necker stopped on FM 1053 to view the fire, which was the brightest thing in the horizon by the time the sun was down.

Malone said firefighters have not determined the cause of the fire.