Officials provide update on massive fire that gutted ex-NFL star Earl Thomas' home
Earl Thomas' home in Orange, Texas caught fire back in August this year and firefighters extinguished the flames. Afterwards, the home was labeled as a "total loss." In the end, those investigating the formally ruled the cause of the blaze to be accidental. The Texas State Fire Marshal's Office started an investigation into the fire soon after and discovered it was probably started by a lightning strike.
At the time of the blaze, it was the largest residential fire in terms of fiscal damage in the history of Orange. The former NFL star and several family members were home at the time of the incident. Thankfully, everyone got out safely and unharmed.
Orange Fire Department Deputy Chief Payton Smith spoke to the media after the fire back in August. Smith commented that Thomas heard a blasting "popping sound" similar to that of a lightning strike. Thomas and his family then observed smoke coming from the corner of the house and exited quickly.
Soon after, the home became engulfed in flames. The home sparked up so fast that firefighters, upon arrival, had to go into "defense mode" to deal with the fierce flames/smoke and get the fire under control. Chief Matt Manshack of the Little Cypress Fire and Orange County ESD 3 spoke of the fire at the time.
Manshack said:
"We're unable to get it under control quickly. With the size of the structure the choice was made by them to go ahead and pull out and just go defensive with it."
Earl Thomas' home was located 275 miles west of Austin, the home of the University of Texas. Thomas played college football at the school.
Earl Thomas' stellar college career at the University of Texas and the NFL
Before becoming a three-time All-Pro in the NFL, it all started for Thomas in Austin during two seasons at the University of Texas. As a freshman, the safety had 70 tackles and two interceptions in the 2008-2009 college football season. In his sophomore season, Earl Thomas finished second in all of college football with eight interceptions.
He also had 65 tackles in that 2009 - 2010 season and was a Consensus All-American. Thomas was taken by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. In the 2013-2014 season, he won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks. In 2020, he was cut by the Baltimore Ravens for "personal conduct" during training camp.
Earl Thomas' legal woes
In May, an arrest warrant was issued by a judge in Austin for breaking a court protective order. Earl Thomas sent menacing messages to a woman about her and her kids. Court records noted that the warrant was signed on April 27, charging him with a third-degree felony. The warrant claimed that he broke the protective order two or more times within a year.
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