Low humidity and gusty winds fueled multiple wildfires on Friday in Texas, burning homes and other buildings and prompting hundreds to evacuate .
Fueled by strong winds through dangerously dry brush and grass fields, the wildfires merged to form what fire officials call a “complex” that was burning near Eastland, about 120 miles (195 km) west of Dallas. As of Friday morning, fires in the area had burned roughly 52,700 acres (21,300 hectares), according to Texas A&M forest service, including the 45,383-acre (18,365-hectare) Eastland Complex fire that was only 4% contained.
“Suppression efforts were incredibly challenging due to extreme fire behavior,” officials with Texas A&M forest service wrote in an update on Friday morning, adding that the conditions were expected to complicate containment efforts and “support wildfire activity”. Crews are being told to focus on life safety and structure protection.
Yesterday, Texas A&M Forest Service responded to 10 wildfires that burned 52,708 acres across the state. Strong winds, critically dry grasses contributed to extreme fire behavior and rapid spread.
— Incident Information - Texas A&M Forest Service (@AllHazardsTFS) March 18, 2022
🎥 Extreme fire behavior observed on the Eastland Complex in Eastland County, 3/17 pic.twitter.com/9ZBJu1ObPs
The fires caused hazy conditions hundreds of miles away, with the Houston fire department and the city’s office of emergency management on Friday morning sending out automated phone messages alerting area residents to smoke and ash.
The National Weather Service in Forth Worth warned on Friday that much of western and central Texas faces an elevated fire risk due to gusty winds and drought conditions. The weather service urged residents to check for local burn bans and use caution with anything that could start a grass fire.
“We had a fairly dry summer last year and that continued into the fall and winter,” said Madison Gordon, a National Weather Service meteorologist. With winter passing, “we now have a lot of fuel available in fields”.
The region has braced for extreme wildfire weather throughout the week, exacerbating the risks posed by intensifying drought that has parched grasses and other vegetation. Low humidity paired with winds officials compared to Santa Ana winds increased the risks, prompting warnings from officials on Wednesday that evacuations were likely and that new conflagrations could be difficult to control.
“Wildfires that ignite under these forecast conditions are highly resistant to firefighters’ suppression efforts and pose a threat to public safety” said Wes Moorehead, Texas A&M forest service fire chief, in a statement on Wednesday encouraging residents to be ready.
By Thursday evening, roughly 475 homes were evacuated and many have been lost to the flames. Officials are still working to determine the extent of the destruction.
“Until we get more boots on the ground we don’t have an estimate” of the total numbers, said Matthew Ford, spokesman for Texas A&M forest service on Friday morning. “Our top priority is life, safety and protection of structures.”
A Baptist church in downtown Ranger, Texas, about 85 miles (137 km) west of Fort Worth, was among those destroyed on Thursday when flames engulfed the 103-year-old building. The police department and other historic buildings were also burned, Dallas TV station WFAA reported.
Roy Rodgers, a deacon at Second Baptist church, said the third floor and roof collapsed and the rest of the building had extensive smoke and water damage. Rodgers said the church plans to hold its next Sunday service in a parking lot across the street, where the congregation will decide what to do.
“It’s heartbreaking,“ said Rodgers, a church member since 1969. “A lot of people are taking it pretty hard because a lot of people have ties to the church.”
The fire, which spread rapidly , may have started from a barbecue pit, the Ranger fire department chief, Darrell Fox, said.
“We had everything ready throughout the county,” Fox said. “But when we have the winds like there was … and the humidity down to nothing, this is what you’re going to get.”
