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PONDER — Each Monday when the Texas Girls Coaches Association’s volleyball poll is released, Ponder coach Stormi Snider and her team check to see if the Lady Lions are among the top 25 teams in Class 3A.

But unlike so many other schools that hope to see their name on the list, Ponder is the exact opposite.

REECE WADDELL can be reached at 940-566-6869 and via Twitter at @ReeceWaddell15.

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As of Friday afternoon, the fire is estimated to be 72 acres and 95% contained.

DENTON COUNTY, Texas — Officials are working to put out a brush fire near the county line between Denton and Wise counties. No homes or buildings have burned.

The Big Sky Fire is reported near U.S. Highway 380 and Jackson Road in Stony. As of Friday afternoon, the fire was estimated to be 72 acres and 95% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

The agency said bulldozers have cut a line around the brush fire, removing grass and other fuels that could reignite. Firefighters are working to "widen and improve that line," a spokesperson tweeted.

"Basically, they're going to cut a road," Denton County Fire Marshall Brad Sebastian said. "They'll do a perimeter around the fire, that way it's controlled no matter what direction the wind blows."

Sebastian said investigators are still trying to determine how the fire started, though it appears to have sparked near U.S. Highway 380. Carelessness is likely to blame, he said.

"Someone probably dragging a chain, throwing out a cigarette butt, or something car-related," he said. "Any of those things can definitely ignite a fire right now."

Big Sky Estates residents watched from their windows as the fire consumed the field across the street from their houses Thursday. The development is new, meaning most neighbors have only lived in their homes for a few months.

"It's really rattling," said Paige Spehar, a first-time homeowner who moved to the neighborhood this spring. "It makes you appreciate all of the things in your life that you have, because they could not be there in a matter of seconds."

This article will be updated when more information is available.

https://t.co/LTC583r959 pic.twitter.com/WdwiabBfyH

— Matt Houston (@MattCHouston) August 3, 2023

A Red Flag Warning has been issued for areas along and west of I-35 until at least 1 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 4. This means any fires could spread very quickly if they get started. It is very hot, dry and breezy in these areas, and drought conditions continue to worsen.

Because of drought and dry conditions, almost all counties along and west of I-35W are under burn bans with more burn bans continuing to be added each day in other parts of North Texas.

Credit: WFAA

Other local news:

MARSHALL, Texas (KLTV) - If you have about 25 million you can buy them all, although it’s doubtful that will happen. A Marshall man is about to auction off his car collection with the help of Sotheby’s.

Gene Ponder has a thing for cars, which is kind of stating the obvious.

“I grew up not having a car. And I don’t care how good a football player or track star you were, girls didn’t want to walk on a date. So, I vowed sooner or later I’d own a lot of cars and clothes,” Ponder said.

Gene never got around to showing me his clothes collection, but I was pretty overwhelmed by the cars.

“So how many cars do you have all together?” I asked Gene.

“I believe it’s 130 give or take three or four. Sometimes I’m not exactly sure,” Ponder said.

Gene says he was raised by his grandparents and worked for a cabinet maker. He began making them himself and it became a business which was very lucrative. Eventually he sold it but decided to start another business in 2007. He financed it with a previous car collection.

“I sold about 40 of the cars back then. I didn’t want a bunch of bank debt. And I wanted to start a large cabinet company with the most sophisticated equipment that you could find now days,” Ponder said.

That was pretty lucrative too and he started up another collection adding to the six cars he kept. He says about four years back his son, who was helping to run the company, died.

“When I lost him, I sold the company and just kind of lost myself in the cars,” Ponder said.

He lost his wife recently, and he says at eighty he’s closer to the end than the beginning so:

“I don’t want to leave all of this to one of my grandchildren to have to sell off and take care of. It’s better that I do it with somebody that really knows what they’re doing and that’s R.M. Sotheby’s,” Ponder said.

He says the one-million-dollar 1959 Mercedes 300 SL, the Ferraris, the Bugattis, the MGs, and the Maseratis all:

“Run as good as they look,” Ponder said.

He says he’ll miss all his prize possessions, but they need to be driven, he can’t get to them all, and it’s time to move on.

“But to me they’re works of art. Some people want a Rembrandt on their wall. These are my Rembrandts,” Ponder said.

All for sale, no reserve, although he is keeping a few off property.

The Sotheby’s auction is in person and online September 22-24 from Ponder’s home in Marshall.

You can also find more information here.

A Marshall man’s private collection of vintage cars, boats, and motorcycles is set to be auctioned off.

Copyright 2022 KLTV. All rights reserved.

Grapevine-based Kubota Tractor Corp. purchased 318 acres of land in Ponder, Texas, and will convert the property into the "Kubota Ranch," the company announced Monday afternoon.

The ranch, about 12 miles southwest of Denton, will offer space for the company to test, train and demonstrate Kubota equipment for prospective dealers deciding whether to sell Kubota products. The company declined to disclose the price it paid for the plot of land.

"Kubota has considered a land purchase of this nature for quite some time, and with our Grapevine headquarters in such close proximity, the opportunity to expand our operations and research and development capabilities here in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth region makes solid business sense," said Masato Yoshikawa, Kubota Tractor Corp.'s president and CEO, in a prepared statement.

Yoshikawa added that another benefit to the ranch is the ability to bring clients to one location to test equipment, rather than recreating the experience in various locations around the country.

Kubota Ranch will retain the four small utility buildings on site and the company said it "has a vision" to build more amenities in the future. Kubota said there are no plans to build either a manufacturing facility or a distribution center in Ponder. Kubota hosts its manufacturing operations in Jefferson and Gainesville, Georgia.

Kubota is a manufacturer of farm equipment like tractors, hay tools and also lawn mowers for consumers. Kubota Tractor Corp., along with Kubota Credit Corp., are both Grapevine-based subsidiaries of Japan-based Kubota Corp.

The company moved Kubota Tractor Corp.'s headquarters to Grapevine from Torrance, California, in 2015. Kubota currently has 500 employees in DFW, a company spokesperson said, and it was not clear if the ranch will add any jobs.

Kubota's relocation to Grapevine a few years ago came with a $3.8 million incentive from the Texas Enterprise Fund. In exchange for the incentive, Kubota agreed to create hundreds of jobs and invest $51 million into its Grapevine headquarters.

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Technicians for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality returned to Ponder to test the last of the town's seven groundwater wells.

PONDER, Texas -- Technicians working for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality returned to the Denton County town of Ponder on Tuesday to continue testing water samples after a series of complaints about suspicious rashes that some residents believe might be caused by the local water supply.

“This is a rash that occurred after a shower," Seraluna Sanchez told WFAA while sifting through several photos from her own family and photos given to her by other residents.

“I believe there was also some on his face that day," she said while showing us pictures of her toddler son. “It’s a burning itching sensation and it’s red," she said of the contact dermatitis diagnosis she eventually received.

Her complaints, and concerns that the groundwater in Ponder might be to blame, have the entire Denton County town talking, including those who worry the entire conversation may be unjustly muddying the town's good name.

“I have no problem at all telling you that the water is safe," said Public Works director Gary Morris. “I’ve been here 26 years, so I do take it personally like it’s my water that I’m trying to produce."

Ponder residents, including those who have started a Facebook discussion group called The Water Fixers, with more than 100 members, say the problems started late last year. Several report rashes and hives after taking showers or washing dishes. But town officials say that in every state-mandated water test, no problems have been found.

“We’re doing everything possible to make sure that there is not something we’re missing or make sure that there’s something out there that we need to take care of," said Morris.

But sporadic complaints persisted. So Tuesday, technicians for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality returned to Ponder to test the last of the town’s seven groundwater wells. Results will be available perhaps in a few weeks -- good news for concerned moms like Seraluna Sanchez.

“We work with good people, and we want to see this moving forward," she said. "We want to see Ponder shed in a good light. And I think with this new testing we will have some relief soon and we’ll know what’s going on.”

Going on....in a town counting on good water and counting on its clean, good name.