BORGER, TX -- Hutchinson County Emergency Coordinator, Danny Richards says the fires are now out. Firefighters and emergency workers all went home around midnight.
Previously Posted:
A high fire danger and strong winds helped to start three fires in just 10 minutes up in Borger late this afternoon.
Fifteen different firefighting agencies from Wheeler, Hemphill to Mobeetie, drove through neighborhoods near the largest fire in South East Borger. That had neighbors keeping a close on eye on the fire too.
"I saw the fire truck come down the street and we came out, and sure enough we saw smoke down at the end of the street," said Billy Forney, who lives right near the fire.
"it's pretty much chaos. Um, everybody's been driving around here trying to get past, and my parents couldn't get back from work because there is so many people up here," said Chelsea Tyler, who also lives right near the fire.
Firefighters donned masks and water packs to fight the hot spots and flames.
" We're focusing on the hot spots... Because those are burning embers in new areas and can potentially start new fires with the wind shift," said Jason Whisler, A Borger fire investigator.
The winds and terrain coupled together made it tough for the crews to put out the more than 600 acre blaze.
Whisler continued, " The terrain is the biggest obstacle, a lot of the area where the fire is it's uh, inaccessible by fire trucks some of the areas you can in the background the uh, the firefighters had to go in with water packs on their back. They literally have to walk in carrying water. It's a little too windy to get any aerial support you know, any of the water tankers or anything. The aerial tankers wouldn't be effective with this kind of wind."
At last check, around 10 p.m., winds have shifted and re-ignited some hot spots, but the fire is contained and crews are still working to fully put it out.
