Grease Fire Rages Across East Texas

A raging grease fire last month spread across the southern half of East Texas and into the neighboring state of Louisiana, killing at least eight and leaving hundreds injured or missing after the intense heat and acrid odor of charred pork and chicken overwhelmed the region.
Six of the dead reportedly tried to put out the grease flames with water, causing the fire to spread; two others perished after running back into their burning homes to save bacon still cooking on their stoves.
Officials said the grease blaze began after a Silsbee  resident attempted to submerge an entire 21-pound turkey in a makeshift deep fryer The fire then leapt rapidly from pancake house to burger joint, intensifying when flames reached a dense patch of cafes, which Fire Marshall Ed Bouchard called "the worst possible timing."
Experts have warned for years that the region was overdue for a disaster of this kind, saying that decades of poor grease management and a culture of fried and heavily buttered food created a highly incendiary "grease core" spread across thousands of square miles. Landfills filled with greasy waxed paper and cardboard have only added to the danger.
"This fire could easily have spattered south into the heart of fried-chicken and crawfish country, or up into the pork chop districts up toward Dallas," Bouchard said. "If that had happened, God help us all."