Wildfires wreak havoc in Central Texas

Multiple wildfires continued to scorch parts of Texas Monday after igniting under dangerous fire weather conditions in the state last week and this past weekend causing the destruction of many homes and the deaths of an Eastland deputy sheriff and two firefighters, one from Texas and one Oklahoma.

The wildfires, tagged by the Texas A&M Forestry as the Eastland Complex, had burned nearly 85 square miles and was roughly 30 to 50% contained heading into Monday.

Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration on Friday for 11 counties in response to the wildfires including Brooks, Brown, Coleman, Comanche, Eastland, Grayson, Mason, Potter, Randall, Reynolds and Williamson.

The Texas A&M Forestry Service and all local first responders in the area have been relentlessly trying to suppress the fires, along with assistance from the Texas Military Department which sent in aviation crews of three fire boss single-engine tankers, three large air tankers, two helicopters and a chinook who dropped around 126,000+ gallons of water and retardant.

Crews were focusing on operations related to life safety and structure protection as well as the construction of fireline where possible.

Wildfires in Eastland County, which began on Thursday afternoon, had burned about 54,000 acres by Saturday night, and only one of them had been 100% contained. Evacuations in the vicinity of the fires across the county were underway.

Deputy Sgt. Barbara Fenley, 51, was assisting evacua tion efforts in Carbon and was last heard from when she was on her way to check on an elderly person, according to the Eastland County Sheriff's Office. Deteriorating conditions and low visibility from the smoke, caused Fenley to drive off the roadway, where she was killed by the flames, the office said.

There were four main fires burning in Eastland on Saturday and by Sunday the Eastland Complex, as Texas A&M Forestry Service referred the overall incident, had extended to seven fires: Kidd Fire (42,333 acres, 40% contained; Blowing Basin Fire, 253 acres, 50%; Cedar Mountain Fire, 179 acres, 40%; Oak Mott Fire, 4,031 acres, 75%; Wheatfield Fire, 7,268 acres, 55%; Mangum Fire, 11 acres, 85%; and Walling Fire, 383 acres, 100%.

Around 50 homes have been destroyed by the wildfires. Some county roads were closed to traffic in the area and traffic was clogged on IH 20 with motorists slowing for the fire west of Eastland.

Texas A&M Forestry Service received calls for assistance at two new fires on Sunday evening in Eastland - the Blowing Basin Fire was around 4 p.m., had burned 250 acres and was 20% contained, and the Cedar Mountain Fire, 50 acres and 0% contained. The Texas State Guard joined the firefight at the Blowing Basin Fire with CH-47 helicopters with bucket drops near Rising Star, while Guard tankers were dumping retardant on other areas.

The Big L wildfire along the Hood and Erath county line also prompted evacuations and had burned around 3,000 acres and was 5% contained on Sunday. Hood County Emergency Management said the city of Lipan was being evacuated and urged evacuees to head east towards Granbury as quickly as possible.

Another evacuation order was issued for some residents of Huckabay, near Stephenville in Erath County due to a separate fire.

Late Sunday afternoon, Texas A&M Forestry Service responded to a request for assistance in Marion County (Marion 1009 Fire) where a wildfire was spreading on an estimated 196 acres and was 50% contained.

Several area fire departments and the Wichita County Sheriff’s Office responded to a large wildfire west of Wichita Falls and just south of Holliday Sunday afternoon.

Melvin Joyner with the WCSO notified the area a mandatory evacuation near highways 82, 258 and Old State Road was ordered and all roads leading to the area were closed, saying the fire "very, very dangerous."

Another separate fire was going on in Montague County near Lake Nocona. Information from the National Weather Service noted it was a fastmoving fire east of the lake near Oakshores Road and FM 2953. The fire was expected to cross 2953 near Oakshores and residents were urged to leave immediately using available east-west routes.

The Wells 2 Fire in Archer County, 500 acres, was 50% contained. Single engine tankers made several drops of retardant to slow the fire spread, which moderated but did not stop forward progress.

Early Thursday evening, SH 153 in Coleman County was closed to nonemergency personnel, according to the Coleman Fire Department, when the Crews Gap Fire reignited. The fire started Monday in Runnels County and spread east toward Coleman County.

The Crews Gap Fire had burned 7,500 acres, according to the Forestry Service, and was 45% contained by 9:30 p.m. Thursday. Before Thursday's high winds, the fire was about 90% contained.

The Texas A&M Forest Services warned that fires could also affect parts of Oklahoma and Kansas, and Nebraska and warned of an extreme fire risk in those states.