Wildfires char nearly 800,000 acres across the Lone Star State

PHOTO KIT GETCHELL This home was destroyed in a fire in an unincorporated area of Hood County.

Unusually hot temperatures, high winds and low relative humidity combined to form a dangerous fire situation across much of Texas, where 4,658 grassfires have scorched 791,188 acres and destroyed more than 400 structures since Dec. 26. Three civilians died, and three volunteer firefighters sustained serious burns while battling the fires. Some of the fires nearly wiped out entire communities. “We’ve never seen anything like this in Texas before,” says Traci Weaver, an urban interface specialist for the Texas Forest Service (TFS). “During the 2000 fire season, which was bad, we lost 48 homes; in the last few weeks, we lost 445.” In parts of Texas, the severe drought conditions made 2005 the driest year since 1956. “We haven’t even reached our fire season for the winter yet,” she adds. By late January, rain helped weaken the fire siege, but it had already done considerable damage.

An Early Start
The state saw its first hint of an ominous fire season when fires erupted over the Thanksgiving holiday. According to the TFS, 61 fires scorched approximately 17,000 acres between Nov. 23 and Nov. 27. The largest fire during that period burned more than 10,000 acres in Wilbarger County.

But the November fires were only the tip of the iceberg, as thousands of fires ignited in December and January. On Dec. 27, the Walnut Bend Fire swept through Callisburg in Cooke County, charring 5,000 acres. The blaze destroyed eight homes and caused the death of a homeowner who was trying to wet down her yard.

In Callahan County, the small community of Cross Plains was one of the worst hit. On Dec. 27, all 1,000 residents were under evacuation order, as fires raced through the small town, consuming thousands of acres, destroying 119 homes and killing two elderly residents.

On the same day, a 30-acre fire in Hood County destroyed 50 structures. Roger Deeds, Hood County Fire Marshal, says they had every resource possible on the fires. At one point, he went up in a helicopter to see the devastation from the air. “It looked like a war zone,” he says. “Homes weren’t just burned so you could see what they once looked like. There was almost nothing left of them. Just debris.”

High winds and elevated temperatures contributed to what Weaver called the “unbelievable conditions” that stoked a fast-moving fire in the community of Ringgold on Jan. 1. Approximately 50 fire departments responded from all over Texas and other states to battle the blaze, which ran 17 miles in one day. “Of [Ringgold’s] 40 homes, 32 burned,” Weaver says. Crews flying over Texas to later assess the damage reported that flames had essentially wiped out the communities of both Ringgold and Kokomo. Also on Jan. 1, a 35-mile-long blaze scorched 22,000 acres and threatened 200 homes near Carbon (about 125 miles west of Dallas), prompting the evacuation of all area residents. The fire destroyed at least three homes.

Fighting Back
After at least 73 fires were reported burning in northern and central parts of the state on Dec. 27, Gov. Rick Perry issued a statewide disaster declaration and ordered the maximum deployment of state firefighting resources. While local departments were the first responders, the enormity of the situation quickly exceeded local control, and the TFS took responsibility for overall coordination of firefighting efforts.

The TFS Lone Star State Incident Management Team took a unified command with the two Southern Area Interagency Incident Management Teams and the Florida Division of Forestry Gold Team, and the incident command center at Granbury supported 13 operations teams at strategic locations.

The Texas Civil Air Patrol (TXCAP), which began aerial recon operations on Dec. 31, assisted in fire detection in the most threatened areas by providing 27 aircraft with crews. The Texas Department of Public Safety (TXDPS) provided traffic control and aerial surveillance assistance, and the Texas Army National Guard (TXARNG) provided D7 bulldozers with operators to assist in firefighting operations. Additionally, as of Jan. 3, Texas aircraft had flown 122 missions, dropping in excess of 147,350 gallons of fire retardant.

Weaver says 42 states provided firefighting assistance. According to the TFS, 1,921 personnel, 75 engines, 140 dozers and 56 aircraft were mobilized through the Texas Interagency Coordination Center since the beginning of the fire siege.

PHOTO COURTESY TEXAS FOREST SERVICE/TRACI WEAVER Fire-behavior analysts were shocked at the fire’s rate of spread, as it moved 800 feet per minute in some locations.

Aid on the Way
On Jan. 11, President Bush issued a disaster declaration for nine counties. The declaration, retroactive to Dec. 1, offers federal funding in the form of individual assistance to affected individuals in Callahan, Cooke, Eastland, Erath, Hood, Montague, Palo Pinto, Tarrant and Wise counties. Also, public assistance is available for emergency protective measures implemented on or after Dec. 27 for all eligible counties.

Varied Causes
Weaver says the fires were caused by a variety of activities, including debris burning, downed power lines, the use of fireworks, improper disposal of cigarettes, playing with lighters, the use of welding equipment around dry grass and even arson. While these causes are varied, many of the fires had one thing in common: their incredible rates of spread. Weaver notes that some fires moved 800 feet per minute, shocking fire-behavior analysts.

At the end of January, rain was expected to help firefighters extinguish any remaining fires. As the fire season is still just beginning, however, the region will likely face more fire danger in the months to come.