Texas is having major drought conditions. It’s dry, it’s windy, and that’s prime for fires.

We’re having them.

On Sunday afternoon I was out with some folks and we noticed a large plume of smoke rising in the distance. No question something big was on fire. I get home and Wife sees there’s a brush fire that broke out around 2 PM not a few miles from my house. Yes, a little scary to think about.

As of this writing, they don’t know what the cause is…. but I’m going to go out on a limb and wonder if it was caused by a smoker flicking their cigarette butt out the car window.

A few weeks ago Wife and Daughter were driving out of our neighborhood and saw some smoke rising up off the curb. All the Live Oak trees have dropped their leaves and pollen sacks, so all that tinder is pooled up along the curbs. At first they weren’t sure if it was exhaust from a car that was parked and running, so they didn’t think much about it. But on the way home, they still saw smoke and called the fire department.

Look… I used to smoke. I understand finishing a smoke and flicking the butt away. But it’s irresponsible and can cause so much damage, loss of property, loss of life. In general you shouldn’t do it because it is one of the biggest sources of litter. But even more so now it shouldn’t be done because it can lead to fires… to people losing their homes, massive disruption of their lives, and perhaps even loss of life.

I don’t care if you smoke — it’s your life, it’s your mouth, lips, heart, and lungs. But once you flick a lit butt, a fire starts… now you’re infringing upon others and their ability to enjoy and live their lives. That’s not permissible.

Find a more responsible place to extinguish your cigarette, please.

Updated: Looks like they have a suspect in custody and are charging them with arson. Glad to hear it. Doesn’t say how it was started, if it may have been a cigarette butt. I should make it clear that I don’t know if that’s how it was started and I’m not saying it is. But I have seen more than enough times in my life where such a simple, thoughtless act can cause big ugly things to happen. It’s completely preventable, so folks… let’s prevent it.