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Losses from Batesville cotton fire estimated to be in millions


Julye Keeble

Staff writer

The true cost of losses caused by the January fire at the Winter Garden Co-Op Cotton Gin in Batesville is still unknown, but damages are estimated to be in the millions, with more than 1,000 round bales of cotton lost.

The fire started shortly after noon on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at the cotton gin in Batesville. Multiple area fire departments, including crews from La Pryor, Batesville, Crystal City, Dimmit County and Uvalde, were dispatched to extinguish the large blaze along U.S. Highway 57, which burned for several days and caused roads to be blocked off.

Co-op shareholder Jimmy Carnes of Uvalde was one of more than 100 stockholders affected by the fire.

Carnes sends cotton to be ginned, and he visited the Batesville location several weeks ago. “When I was down there I saw people working. It looked like they were in the process of cleaning up,” Carnes said.

Staff confirmed employees of the cotton gin were paid as normal during the time it was closed and after the fire was extinguished they were able to return to work and begin preparing for next season.

Carnes said there was some cotton left to be ginned that had not burned, stating he took 63 groups of four round bales each, and 59 of those groups burned, leaving him approximately 16 round bales.

He stated the fire was a dramatic and unexpected experience, but that local cotton farmers are no stranger to losses.

Last year’s rain also caused losses of cotton sitting in fields. “We thought then maybe that was the worst thing that could happen to us,” Carnes said of the rain-based losses.

Carnes said management had been meeting with insurance adjusters to consider the amount of damage.

The process of ginning involves taking seed cotton out of the field to have the cotton lint and seed separated, according to www.cotton.org. The cotton goes through cleaning equipment to remove foreign matter.

The round cotton bales have the lint removed and are then compressed into bales weighing approximately 480 pounds.

Carnes said he typically gets about four bales of salable cotton from a round bale, which he sells for approximately $0.60 per pound. The seed is also baled.

History

The fire started at approximately 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28. At points, officials said, smoke was so thick visibility was almost non-existent.

Uvalde Volunteer Fire Department assistant chief Mario Rangel referenced 40-plus mph winds that cased heavy smoke as the fires stretched approximately one mile along both sides of Highway 57.

Zavala County Judge Joe Luna said at the time the cause of the fire may have involved employees burning trash while Zavala County was under a burn ban. No injuries were reported as a result of the fire.

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