Fire at solar plant in Ben Wheeler after hail damage

What happened

On 30 September 2023, crews responded to a fire at a solar plant on FM 773 in Ben Wheeler, Texas. Ben Wheeler Fire & Rescue said the panels had been damaged by two hail storms earlier in the year and had become prone to setting the grass beneath them alight. The department said about eight small incidents had occurred at the plant that year, that they were not considered a threat to nearby properties, and that the plant had not had fire problems before the storm damage. The extent of damage from the Saturday fire was not reported.

Contributing factors

The fire service linked the recurring grass fires to hail damage to the panels. No independent assessment of the damage or of the ignition mechanism was reported.

Lessons learned

1. After hail, inspect arrays and the ground beneath them before damaged equipment can start vegetation fires.
2. Keep vegetation under arrays managed where storm damage may create an ignition path to dry grass.
3. Treat a run of small fires after weather damage as a site-wide problem, not a one-off call.

Source

kltv.com