Texas wildfire inferno's burning 'from border to border,' forest official says
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Pastor Dale Morgan
Apr 20, 2011, 5:58:33 AM4/20/11
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Texas wildfire inferno's burning 'from border to border,' forest official says
Firefighters from 34 states battle Texas blazes
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 20, 2011 5:21 a.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* NEW: Texas burning "from border to border," forest service spokeswoman says
* NEW: A cold front is expected to bring rain and lower the fire threat Wednesday
* NEW: The threat is likely to return Thursday for parts of west Texas
* More than 170 homes have been destroyed by fires
Read more about this story from CNN affiliates WFAA and KTVT.
Dallas (CNN) -- Texas firefighters on Wednesday continued to battle blazes that have scorched a million acres and have been burning for more than a week, according to the Texas Fire Service.
"We're actually seeing Texas burn from border to border. We've got it in West Texas, in East Texas, in North Texas in South Texas - It's all over the state," Texas Forest Service spokeswoman April Saginor told CNN Radio. "We've got one in the Dallas area that's four fires that have actually merged together."
Saginor said firefighters from 34 states are now in Texas battling blazes that, over the past two weeks, have destroyed 170 homes and scorched 1 million acres.
"Some (fires) are over 100,000 acres, and they've been burning for over a week, so that's our priority right now," Saginor said, "to put out the big ones.
Wildfire ravages home but spares family roosters
Much of Texas, however is expected to get a break Wednesday from the dry weather and high winds blamed for the spreading wildfires, according to the National Weather Service. However, the fire danger is likely to return Thursday for various parts of the state, the weather service said.
"Even if we get two inches of rain the ground's going to eat it up," said David Hennig, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Midland, Texas. "We need a pattern shift."
West Texas averages nearly 15 inches of rain a year, according to Hennig. In the past six months, only 13 hundredths of an inch of rain has been recorded in that part of the state. While October through March is typically the dry season, that amount of rainfall is way below what it should be, Hennig said.
Hennig said weather models show the possibility of more storms this weekend and perhaps next work. While the rain is needed, storms accompanied by lightning pose a fire risk, he said.
Not all of Texas will get a reprieve from the tinderbox weather Wednesday. The Guadalupe Mountains face an extreme risk of fire through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
Texas Forest Service: Fire dangers and advisories
Van Horn, Texas, which is 165 miles west of Odessa, is expected to face a critical fire threat on Thursday, as well the nearby state Highway 54 corridor and the southeast New Mexico plains.
Firefighters in Texas had to contend with 11 new fires Tuesday in addition to carryover blazes.
Massive flames forced the evacuation of at least three towns and brought widespread damage to several parched counties west of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area Tuesday, authorities said. Helicopters and other aircraft aided the firefighting.
One of the largest fires plaguing Texas rampaged between the towns of Graham and Graford.
That fire, less than 70 miles west of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, burned into residential areas surrounding Possum Kingdom Lake Monday night, destroying and damaging homes in four or five neighborhoods, according to Marq Webb, a spokesman with the Texas Forest Service.
Aerial images shot Tuesday by CNN affiliate WFAA showed some homes on the edge of Possum Kingdom Lake burned down to the foundations, swaths of charred vegetation and heavy smoke hanging over parts of the area. Still, numerous homes appeared to have escaped the flames, some of them next to houses that had been destroyed.
Other aerial video shot nearby by CNN affiliate KTVT showed massive flames and smoke still in the area. Helicopters and Air National Guard C-130 aircraft outfitted with specialized firefighting equipment roared overhead, dumping water and fire retardant on the flames.
More than 600 homes were threatened by the fire, which involved more than 147,065 acres in Stephens, Palo Pinto and Young counties on Tuesday, the Forest Service said earlier.
Young County Sheriff Bryan Walls estimated the fire covered 200,000 acres in the three counties: Stephens, Palo Pinto, as well as Young.
The Palo Pinto County Sheriff's office said it evacuated 200 residents in the town of Palo Pinto, about 70 miles west of Fort Worth, and moved them to shelters. Two buses were sent to evacuate jail inmates, said Deputy Randy Hunter.
The communities of Graford and Strawn were also evacuated, the Forest Service said.
The state has seen fires in 252 of its 254 counties since December 21, 2010.
CNNRadio's Thomas Andres contributed to this report
Texas wildfire inferno's burning 'from border to border,' forest official says
Firefighters from 34 states battle Texas blazes
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 20, 2011 5:21 a.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* NEW: Texas burning "from border to border," forest service spokeswoman says
* NEW: A cold front is expected to bring rain and lower the fire threat Wednesday
* NEW: The threat is likely to return Thursday for parts of west Texas
* More than 170 homes have been destroyed by fires
Read more about this story from CNN affiliates WFAA and KTVT.
Dallas (CNN) -- Texas firefighters on Wednesday continued to battle blazes that have scorched a million acres and have been burning for more than a week, according to the Texas Fire Service.
"We're actually seeing Texas burn from border to border. We've got it in West Texas, in East Texas, in North Texas in South Texas - It's all over the state," Texas Forest Service spokeswoman April Saginor told CNN Radio. "We've got one in the Dallas area that's four fires that have actually merged together."
Saginor said firefighters from 34 states are now in Texas battling blazes that, over the past two weeks, have destroyed 170 homes and scorched 1 million acres.
"Some (fires) are over 100,000 acres, and they've been burning for over a week, so that's our priority right now," Saginor said, "to put out the big ones.
Wildfire ravages home but spares family roosters
Much of Texas, however is expected to get a break Wednesday from the dry weather and high winds blamed for the spreading wildfires, according to the National Weather Service. However, the fire danger is likely to return Thursday for various parts of the state, the weather service said.
"Even if we get two inches of rain the ground's going to eat it up," said David Hennig, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Midland, Texas. "We need a pattern shift."
West Texas averages nearly 15 inches of rain a year, according to Hennig. In the past six months, only 13 hundredths of an inch of rain has been recorded in that part of the state. While October through March is typically the dry season, that amount of rainfall is way below what it should be, Hennig said.
Hennig said weather models show the possibility of more storms this weekend and perhaps next work. While the rain is needed, storms accompanied by lightning pose a fire risk, he said.
Not all of Texas will get a reprieve from the tinderbox weather Wednesday. The Guadalupe Mountains face an extreme risk of fire through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
Texas Forest Service: Fire dangers and advisories
Van Horn, Texas, which is 165 miles west of Odessa, is expected to face a critical fire threat on Thursday, as well the nearby state Highway 54 corridor and the southeast New Mexico plains.
Firefighters in Texas had to contend with 11 new fires Tuesday in addition to carryover blazes.
Massive flames forced the evacuation of at least three towns and brought widespread damage to several parched counties west of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area Tuesday, authorities said. Helicopters and other aircraft aided the firefighting.
One of the largest fires plaguing Texas rampaged between the towns of Graham and Graford.
That fire, less than 70 miles west of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, burned into residential areas surrounding Possum Kingdom Lake Monday night, destroying and damaging homes in four or five neighborhoods, according to Marq Webb, a spokesman with the Texas Forest Service.
Aerial images shot Tuesday by CNN affiliate WFAA showed some homes on the edge of Possum Kingdom Lake burned down to the foundations, swaths of charred vegetation and heavy smoke hanging over parts of the area. Still, numerous homes appeared to have escaped the flames, some of them next to houses that had been destroyed.
Other aerial video shot nearby by CNN affiliate KTVT showed massive flames and smoke still in the area. Helicopters and Air National Guard C-130 aircraft outfitted with specialized firefighting equipment roared overhead, dumping water and fire retardant on the flames.
More than 600 homes were threatened by the fire, which involved more than 147,065 acres in Stephens, Palo Pinto and Young counties on Tuesday, the Forest Service said earlier.
Young County Sheriff Bryan Walls estimated the fire covered 200,000 acres in the three counties: Stephens, Palo Pinto, as well as Young.
The Palo Pinto County Sheriff's office said it evacuated 200 residents in the town of Palo Pinto, about 70 miles west of Fort Worth, and moved them to shelters. Two buses were sent to evacuate jail inmates, said Deputy Randy Hunter.
The communities of Graford and Strawn were also evacuated, the Forest Service said.
The state has seen fires in 252 of its 254 counties since December 21, 2010.
CNNRadio's Thomas Andres contributed to this report
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