Texas wildfires destroy dozens more homes as season drags on
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Pastor Dale Morgan
Aug 22, 2011, 9:32:37 PM8/22/11
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Times and Climate Change
Texas wildfires destroy dozens more homes as season drags on
A firefighter sprays water on a forest and grass fire that scorched an area between CR 235 and 233 along CR 21 east of Tyler on Tuesday in Smith County. Fast-moving wildfires have destroyed more than a dozen homes in several Texas towns.
Posted: Saturday, August 20, 2011 4:00 am | Updated: 8:26 am, Mon Aug 22, 2011.
FORT WORTH (AP) — Fast-moving wildfires destroyed more than a dozen homes in several Texas towns this week and the drought-plagued state’s worst wildfire season on record is showing no signs of stopping, fire officials said Friday.
Texas is in the grips of its most severe drought since the 1950s, bone-dry conditions made worse by weeks of triple-digit temperatures in many cities. Blazes have destroyed 5,400 square miles since mid-November, the start of the wildfire season that continues to mercilessly drag on.
“It seems like so much has burned, and it has, but Texas is a big state,” said Richard Reuse, a Texas Forest Service spokesman. “There are many, many acres of range land and forest land that have not burned.”
In North Texas, several homes were destroyed in Johnson and Tarrant counties by separate wildfires Thursday. Earlier this week, a 30-acre wildfire in Leander, north of Austin, spread rapidly and destroyed 15 homes. Two weeks ago, firefighters for several days battled a 7,700-acre blaze that threatened dozens of homes near Jacksboro.
Firefighters haven’t had much of a break this summer, even after various crews battled what turned out to be seven of the 10 largest wildfires in state history this spring.
And the long wildfire season hasn’t been easy for firefighters. More crews respond to grass fires because they must rotate more when working in the searing summer heat, according to several departments.
“The heat takes its toll on personnel, and they have to take more breaks just so they can have rest and hydration,” said Tim Hardeman, a Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman who said his agency has responded to three or four times more grass fires than normal this year.
Texas wildfires destroy dozens more homes as season drags on
A firefighter sprays water on a forest and grass fire that scorched an area between CR 235 and 233 along CR 21 east of Tyler on Tuesday in Smith County. Fast-moving wildfires have destroyed more than a dozen homes in several Texas towns.
Posted: Saturday, August 20, 2011 4:00 am | Updated: 8:26 am, Mon Aug 22, 2011.
FORT WORTH (AP) — Fast-moving wildfires destroyed more than a dozen homes in several Texas towns this week and the drought-plagued state’s worst wildfire season on record is showing no signs of stopping, fire officials said Friday.
Texas is in the grips of its most severe drought since the 1950s, bone-dry conditions made worse by weeks of triple-digit temperatures in many cities. Blazes have destroyed 5,400 square miles since mid-November, the start of the wildfire season that continues to mercilessly drag on.
“It seems like so much has burned, and it has, but Texas is a big state,” said Richard Reuse, a Texas Forest Service spokesman. “There are many, many acres of range land and forest land that have not burned.”
In North Texas, several homes were destroyed in Johnson and Tarrant counties by separate wildfires Thursday. Earlier this week, a 30-acre wildfire in Leander, north of Austin, spread rapidly and destroyed 15 homes. Two weeks ago, firefighters for several days battled a 7,700-acre blaze that threatened dozens of homes near Jacksboro.
Firefighters haven’t had much of a break this summer, even after various crews battled what turned out to be seven of the 10 largest wildfires in state history this spring.
And the long wildfire season hasn’t been easy for firefighters. More crews respond to grass fires because they must rotate more when working in the searing summer heat, according to several departments.
“The heat takes its toll on personnel, and they have to take more breaks just so they can have rest and hydration,” said Tim Hardeman, a Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman who said his agency has responded to three or four times more grass fires than normal this year.
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