Construction accident caused fire of original Buc-ee’s building in Luling

More than a dozen fire departments responded to the scene

Image shows aftermath of fire at former Buc-ee's in Luling on July 1, 2024. (Southeast Caldwell County VFD)

LULING, Texas – Firefighters in Luling said it was “all hands on deck” Monday morning as the first-ever Buc-ee’s travel stop went up in flames.

The fire was caused by the use of heavy equipment during the demo process, Luling Deputy Fire Chief Keith Lohse said.

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A Luling volunteer firefighter official said the fire started at about 10 a.m. on Monday at the structure, which is now demolished.

More than a dozen fire departments responded to the scene, and the fire was extinguished around noon.

The area will be used for additional parking spaces for the new Buc-ee’s store on the adjacent property that opened last month. The new travel stop spans 75,000 square feet, making it the largest Buc-ees in the country.

That original store was built in 2003.

The Caldwell County Office of Emergency Management posted on Facebook that the new store was not affected by the fire.


About the Authors

Julie Moreno has worked in local television news for more than 25 years. She came to KSAT as a news producer in 2000. After producing thousands of newscasts, she transitioned to the digital team in 2015. She writes on a wide variety of topics from breaking news to trending stories and manages KSAT’s daily digital content strategy.

Before starting at KSAT in August 2011, Ken was a news photographer at KENS. Before that he was a news photographer at KVDA TV in San Antonio. Ken graduated from San Antonio College with an associate's degree in Radio, TV and Film. Ken has won a Sun Coast Emmy and four Lone Star Emmys. Ken has been in the TV industry since 1994.

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