AUSTIN (KXAN)—A fire at Real Tire Disposal in Burnet County burns for a second day after igniting Monday afternoon. After reviewing publicly-available records from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, or TCEQ, KXAN found over a dozen complaints against the business, going back almost ten years.
The facility is permitted through the TCEQ. Agency records show at least 19 complaints received about the tire facility since 2016, including four this year. The 2025 complaints include one about an “excessive amount of scrap tires.” All of the complaints are classified as “closed,” according to TCEQ.
In a press conference, Burnet County Sheriff Calvin Boyd described a “mountain of tires” at the site. He thanked Burnet city workers for stepping in to move some of the unignited tires and prevent the flames from spreading.
“It could have been a lot worse,” Boyd said. “They cut off the back side of that with tractors and moved those tires back… They saved those guys a lot of work last night.”
But there is still a fire on the site inside the mound of tires. Burnet Fire Chief Mark Ingram said the next step is taking the pile apart with an excavator to cool it down. If that fails, Ingram said they will have to let the fire burn itself out.
Tackling the remaining fire could take several days. Even with help from nearby fire departments and other first responder agencies, Monday’s firefighting efforts exhausted the supply of foam. They are waiting for the Texas Forestry Service to arrive with more.
TCEQ investigated the facility in 2019, sparked by a complaint of unauthorized piles of scrap tires, agency records show.
Investigators found multiple violations that led to an agreed enforcement order. In 2020, the business’ CEO signed off on a fine of more than $90,000, according to the TCEQ’s enforcement summary.
Among the violations from the 2019 investigation, TCEQ found the facility failed to limit the size of scrap tire piles to three mounds with a maximum size of 8,000 square feet. Investigators said they found six piles exceeding the allowable square footage, and there were about 107,000 tires at the facility, according to a summary of the enforcement order.
TCEQ also said the business failed to maintain copies of a fire plan with revisions at the site and provide copies to local fire departments and emergency response teams. The facility’s fire plan also did not include the roles of onsite staff and emergency coordinators, a list of emergency equipment, evacuation procedures and insurance information, according to TCEQ.
KXAN has contacted the TCEQ for an updated status of tire facility’s fire plan compliance, but that information was not immediately available. TCEQ’s online records show the facility had a compliance investigation as recently as Aug. 15, 2024, and the agency gave it a compliance rating of “satisfactory” two weeks later.
According to Derek Marchio with the Burnet County Office of Emergency Management, the TCEQ tested the air quality on Monday. They did not get any readings on anything hazardous, even downwind from the fire. However, he warned people living near the fire to stay alert and exercise caution.
“If that smoke does start really coming over homes, make sure to shut off your HVAC systems and if needed, evacuate,” Marchio said. “But right now, we’re not going to do any mandatory evacuations unless the situation becomes worse.”
The blaze is under investigation, but Boyd said it could take several weeks for a final report. The city plans to keep the eastbound lane of Highway 29 closed for three more days.
Representatives of the company acknowledged KXAN’s email about the fire and TCEQ enforcement order on Tuesday, and we will include their statements when available.