The change in weather conditions Wednesday and Thursday is expected to play a major factor in the outbreak of wildfires across the state.
There are 13 active fires across Texas as of Wednesday morning, the Texas A&M Forest Service told NBC 5. Crews battled at least 24 wildfires Tuesday and worked through the night to contain 15 of those in more than a dozen counties.
The fires were helped by a strong front bringing increased winds and temperatures which fueled fire danger in dry grasses. But rain in the forecast will go a long way in helping get those fires under control.
“With the moisture coming in we should see some good cloud cover and that will also help to increase the moisture in the vegetation of the landscape,” said Erin O’Connor with the Texas A&M Forest Service. “So, with that, we should expect to see a lower potential for wildfire today which will be good for our crews that are still on the ground trying to contain any active fires that are still burning from yesterday.”
One of the largest fires burned more than 800 acres of land in Jack County.
“As we know in Texas, nine out of 10 of our fires are human-caused,” O’Connor said. “So, that’s always something that we try to educate and spread that messaging on those days as well.
In the southeastern Tarrant County city of Kennedale, a fire that burned early 100 acres and damaged one business led to brief evacuations in one neighborhood. The cause of that fire remains under investigation.
The Texas A&M Forest Service reported the following fires as of 9 p.m. Tuesday.
ACTIVE FIRES
735 Fire, Jim Wells County – est. 400 acres, 10% containedKarnes 1703 Fire, DeWitt County – est. 250 acres, 50% containedHawk Fire, Wichita County – est. 100 acres, 85% containedVoss Fire, Kendall County – est. 25 acres, 60% containedPanama Fire, Palo Pinto County – est. 177 acres, 10% containedGate C Fire, Wise County – est. 60 acres, 90% containedExperiment Station #1 Fire, Crockett County – est. 434 acres, 90% contained-Seep Draw Complex, Irion County – 514 acres, 95% containedKatie Court Fire, Hood County – 9 acres, 90% contained- Sandusky Fire, Grayson County – 602.8 acres, 50% containedRough Ridge Fire, Bosque County – est. 100 acres, 50% containedWill Walters Fire, Hood County – est. 40 acres, 90% containedKey Fire, Jack County – est. 700 acres, 50% containedValentines Day Fire, Wise County – 265 acres, 90% containedRound Mountain 2 Fire, Comanche County – 23 acres, 95% contained
CONTAINED FIRES
Slim Jim Fire, Caldwell County – 9.9 acresHarrison 1808 Fire, Harrison County – 1 acreAngelina 1550 Fire, Angelina County – 2 acresJohnson Fire, Callahan County – 25 acresCherokee 1536 Fire, Cherokee County – 5.1 acresTitus 1354 Fire, Titus County – 4 acresHead Rick Bluff, Nolan County – 179 acresPanola 1309 Fire, Panola County – 3 acresUpshur 1249 Fire, Upshur County – 2 acresUpshur 1241 Fire, Upshur County – 4 acresFrances Fire, Comal County – 23 acres
