AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Update 9:22 p.m.
The fire is now contained and crews are just putting out the hot spots.
Update 7:52 p.m.
Texas Forest Service responded to two requests for assistance from volunteer departments Saturday afternoon one in the panhandle Potter County.
They're calling it the Willow Creek Fire and the request came in at 2:30 p.m. The Forest Service is estimating the fire size to be at 150 to 175 acres. Resources are still working on this fire which includes 2 SEATS (single engines air tankers -- planes that are generally used as crop dusters), and an air attack aircraft.
Fires previously reported:
Hartley County -- Highway 2357 Complex -- 3 fires. When there are multiple fires, the term "complex" is used. These fires total 2700 acres. Control lines are around the fires, however due to weather conditions the fires are not called controlled at this time.
Three other fires were also reported to the Texas Forest Service today. Tomorrow will be a real test for firefighters in Texas. There have been plenty of media and National Weather Service alerts for very high winds, low relative humidities, and high temperatures. Winds could be in the general range of 30 to 40 miles per hour with possible gusts to 60, starting in the morning in West Texas, and this system will move across the state eastward. The Texas Forest Service has prepositioned resources in strategic locations in anticipation of many requests for assistance. The Texas State Lone Star Incident Management Team is located in Merkel and is coordinating the dispatch of resources, including air resources. There is a possibility that aircraft will not fly during periods of high winds. Out of state resources also have been arriving Saturday to assist.
The Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System has been activated in advance of Sunday's predicted high fire danger day. Sixteen engines (fire trucks) from departments across the state are being stationed throughout West Texas in preparation for the potentially devastating conditions expected. Governor Rick Perry proactively ordered the TIFMAS activation based on the extreme forecast. Today marks the 3rd activation for the TIFMAS system.
The Texas Forest Service also issued this release:
Sixteen fire engines from departments across the state are being stationed throughout West Texas in preparation for potentially-devastating wildfire conditions expected Sunday.
The engines — brush trucks specifically designed to battle wildfires — are being activated through the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS), a statewide agreement that allows communities to call upon each other during times of need. Four command vehicles also are being activated.
On Sunday, high impact fire weather that could directly threaten public safety is predicted for much of the state including all areas along and west of the I-35 corridor. Wind speeds are expected to reach 35 to 45 mph with gusts up to 60 mph, which could push wildfires more than 100 yards — or about the length of a football field — in a minute’s time. Gov. Rick Perry proactively ordered the TIFMAS activation based on the extreme forecast.
The trucks and command vehicles will be split into four strike teams and pre-positioned in Brownwood, Mineral Wells, Lubbock and Midland. A second and third wave of strike teams is at the ready, should they be needed.
“TIFMAS gives us ability to shift resources from one part of the state to the other without depleting anything in the hot zone,” said Joe Florentino, TIFMAS state coordinator. “If things light up on Sunday, we’ll be ready.”
An Austin-area strike team will go to Brownwood, while a Denton County team will head to Mineral Wells. The other two strike teams will be made up of new engines presented to departments less than two weeks ago through a TIFMAS grant program run by Texas Forest Service.
Those eight new engines — hailing from Big Spring, Brownwood, Georgetown, Lewisville, Mission, Nacogdoches, Flower Mound and Cedar Hill — will be split between Lubbock and Midland.
“It’s Texans helping Texans,” Florentino said. “When you think about how big the state is and all the resources … five years ago, we would’ve had no way of doing this.”
Saturday marks the third activation for the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System. It previously was activated during Hurricane Ike and on April 9, 2009, when nearly two dozen wildfires raced across the state, burning more than 150,000 acres including two entire towns in Montague County.
Similar fire weather conditions are predicted for this Sunday, according to Texas Forest Service fire officials and National Weather Service meteorologists.
Update 5:00:
Fire Captain Wesley Hall has confirmed that the fire is now 60 percent contained.
Hall says preliminary estimates are that 200 acres have burned. Amarillo Fire Department and Potter County responded to the fire including 11 AFD units and five or six Potter County units.
Additionally, three aircrafts from Texas Forest Service were brought in to help extinguish the blaze. Two aircrafts dropped a mixture of water and fire retardant for a total of six drops and 460 gallons of water. "It's been helpful because the terrain is kind of rough," Hall said.
So far, fire officials report no damage to structures.
Previously Posted:
The smell of smoke is in the air as the Amarillo Fire Department (AFD) is busy battling a large grass fire just north of Amarillo.
AFD was dispatched to the 7600 block of Blue Bonnet around 1:45 this afternoon.
Next door neighbors told Pronews 7 the fire started by a push lawn mower that caught on fire then started to spread east, but Fire Captain Wesley Hall said he heard that rumor, but there is no official cause of the fire yet.
All traffic was stopped on Blue Bonnet earlier and scanner traffic shows some homes were temporarily threatened. So far no injuries have been reported. The area is currently under a high wind and fire danger alert.
