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.
In a response from Adam Muery, the attorney representing the tire disposal company, Reliable Tire Disposal confirmed a fire broke out at its Burnet County facility on Monday, and said it is thankful that no injuries were reported. The statement said the company is cooperating with authorities, including the TCEQ and local fire crews, to determine the cause of the incident.
The statement also acknowledged Reliable Tire Disposal’s past issues and said it “resolved a TCEQ enforcement order issued in 2020 related to facility operations.” Since then, the company has maintained compliance with state environmental regulations and no violations were found from 2020 to 2024, the statement said.
The following is the full statement from the company’s attorney Adam Muery:
Reliable Tire Disposal confirms that on June 30, 2025, a fire occurred at our Burnet County facility. We are grateful that no injuries were reported and that local emergency responders acted quickly to contain the fire. We are working in full cooperation with regulatory authorities, including the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and local fire officials, to determine the cause of the incident and to ensure all required environmental and operational protocols are followed during recovery.
Regarding your reference to historical regulatory matters:
Reliable Tire Disposal resolved a TCEQ enforcement order issued in 2020 related to facility operations. Since that time, the company has continuously worked to maintain compliance with state environmental regulations and has undergone multiple site inspections by TCEQ.
We are providing, as an attachment to this response, formal letters from TCEQ confirming that for calendar years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, the agency conducted complaint-based or routine investigations at our facility, and in each instance, no violations were found.
These letters include:
· January 17, 2020
· September 14, 2021
· March 4, 2022
· July 31, 2023
· January 5, 2024
These documents reflect our ongoing effort to operate responsibly and in compliance with TCEQ requirements. The company has also submitted required certifications of compliance to the agency as part of our continuing operations and registration renewal process.
At this time, we are focused on supporting the fire investigation, addressing any necessary cleanup, and ensuring that communication with the public and with regulators remains clear and responsive. We will continue to provide additional information as it becomes available.
If you have specific written questions you’d like us to address, we welcome the opportunity to review and respond accordingly.