Grassfire burns part of Ellis County on Tuesday

A grassfire quickly spread Tuesday afternoon in Ellis County on a day experts had warned was prime for dangerous fires.

Before firefighters could get the fire under control in Palmer it destroyed a mobile home and caused major damage to three others. All of those homes were occupied by couples and families.

The Ellis County Fire Marshal said a man was welding when the wind kicked up the flames about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. He did have a fire extinguisher with him, but the fire was beyond control.

"We're seeing a lot of these cases -- carelessness. People not acting appropriately and stuff. It's of the utmost importance that we all watch what we're doing and be very careful,” said Fire Marshal Tim Birdwell.

The fire marshal says the fire was an accident and the man will not be penalized. However, Ellis County officials did enact a burn ban on Tuesday morning.

One homeowner was treated for smoke inhalation after trying to put the fire out at his home. A firefighter also had to be treated for smoke inhalation while another got a minor burn. Both of those firefighters were able to return to duty within hours.

An elevated fire warning is in place through Wednesday evening in the western parts of North Texas.