The Corpus Christi Caller-Times
FALFURRIAS, Texas — More than 100 fire units from around South Texas battled late into Tuesday night a massive brush fire that started in the afternoon in Duval County before spreading to neighboring Brooks County, a fire official said.
"This is unprecedented," said Capt. Adan Garcia with the Alice Fire Department. "I've been with the department here for 16 years, and we've never had to fight a fire with this many units on scene."
Officials closed State Highway 285 west of Falfurrias as firefighters from multiple agencies sought to contain the fire the McAllen Monitor reported.
The fire is estimated to have burned as much as 9,000 acres, or about 14 square miles, the Monitor reported.
The fire had not resulted in any injuries, according to emergency responders.
However, at least one trailer had been scorched, Hidalgo County emergency management coordinator Tony Peña said, and the fire continued to burn in pockets on both sides of State Highway 285, about 20 miles west of Falfurrias.
Emergency responders in Brooks County got their first call about the fire about 3:40 p.m. Tuesday but apparently were alerted to the blaze only after it crossed into Brooks County from Duval County and was completely out of control, Carlos "C.J." Moreno of the Hidalgo County office of emergency management told the Monitor for its online edition.
The fire, which started in Duval County, has not damaged any structures but continues to burn in pockets on both sides of Farm-to-Market Road 285, about 21 miles west of Falfurrias, leaving scorched earth in its path, the Monitor reported.
"No structures have been damaged so far - it's mainly attacking heavy brush and grass," Garcia said.
Fire crews from Alice, Edinburg, Freer, McAllen, Mission, Pharr, San Diego, San Manuel and Southern Brooks Country fire departments are battling the blaze. Personnel from the Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Forest Service also are at the scene.
Elsewhere, a smoky haze blanketed several cities in North, Central and West Texas, where swift-moving flames consumed about 2,000 acres of fields and forced home evacuations in Tarrant, Wise, Parker, Burnet, Nolan and Callahan counties. At least two dozen buildings were destroyed.
No injuries or deaths had been reported Tuesday as firefighters scrambled to douse the flames. Some 152 counties -- more than half in the state -- were under a burn ban.
Several neighborhoods in Benbrook south of Fort Worth were evacuated as one fire spread to more than 400 acres, possibly started by someone tossing a cigarette onto an interstate median, Tarrant County officials said.
In Central Texas, a 500-acre fire in Burnet County was growing as it moved into Williamson County by early afternoon, said Capt. Jim Barho, emergency management coordinator for the Burnet County Sheriff's Department.
In North Texas, Wise County fires consumed more than 300 acres and destroyed at least 14 structures, mostly homes near Paradise, said Texas Forest Service spokeswoman Carrie Smith. Parker County firefighters battled 10 blazes, including one caused by trash burning, and had contained all but two -- near Reno and Aledo -- by the afternoon, although some homes were lost, said county spokesman Joel Kertok.
Six fires totaling about 150 acres south of Gainesville were either out or under control Tuesday afternoon, and no structures were damaged, said Ray Fletcher, Cooke County's emergency management coordinator.
In West Texas, a Nolan County fire near the small town of Maryneal destroyed about 200 acres. In Callahan County, a fire jumped a road and continued spreading, destroying several buildings after about 80 families were evacuated, said County Judge Roger Corn and Texas Forest Service officials.
Gov. Rick Perry has activated the state's Emergency Operations Center at level one, the highest level, his spokeswoman Allison Castle said.
Staff writer David Kassabian, The McAllen Monitor and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Men watch a grass fire in Parker county near Aledo on Tuesday. High winds have spread fires over many areas of North, Central and West Texas.
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