UPDATE – 9:45pm 4/8 – Brownwood Fire Chief Del Albright reports that the rekindle is mostly contained and crews are now working on hot spots.
“There are several hot spots that we can’t get to,” Albright said. “We have to let them burn out and try to reach them the best we can or let them come to us.”
Albright estimates that between 200-300 additional acres burned in this rekindle.
“The fire has not escaped the camp,” Albright said, alleviating fears that the fire was spreading to neighboring property.
He also confirmed that this rekindle started with a flair-up of a hot spot from the fire that burned in the same location earlier this week. The chief said that today was the first day that firefighters were not on scene from the previous fire. He also reported that 22 trucks helped to contain today’s fire. Firefighters from as far away as Wylie and Plano came with the last available TIFMAS Strike Team which is stationed in Merkel.
Albright said that firefighters will be at the scene all night watching the situation.
Original Story: Area firefighters were dispatched to a rekindle of the Camp Bowie Wildfire Friday afternoon in the area between FM 45 and Brown County Road 267 to what officials called a “fast moving fire”.
As of 7:30pm, at least 13 trucks from Brownwood Fire Department, the volunteer fire departments of Early, Bangs, Brookesmith, Winchell, Zephyr, North Lake Brownwood, Lake Bridge and even the McCullough County strike team (Lohn, Placid, Rochelle and Brady units) were called to fight the rapidly spreading fire.
Brownwood Fire Chief Del Albright called to have aircraft from Abilene as well as the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) Strike Team assist with the fire. The aircraft was used to help firefighters on the ground assess the situation. Officials report that no air tankers were available as they were assisting at other wildfires in the state.
No word yet on the size of this blaze.
Click Here for info about the original fire that started last Saturday.
We will post updates as more information becomes available.
The Texas Forest Service reports that high temperatures and high winds are combining to create a perfect storm for wildfire.
A study released this week shows that last month was the driest March in Texas history since 1895. That combined with the fact that 90 percent of Texas wildfires are caused by humans means seemingly-innocuous activities like burning trash or parking a car on the grass could spark a fire that could threaten homes and property.
Conditions are in place for significant fire danger Saturday in West Texas and the Panhandle. On Sunday, the critical region expands to the east, encompassing parts of Central and North Texas, including the heavily-populated areas of Fredericksburg, Waco, Granbury, Wichita Falls and Gainesville.
“There are times when fuels dominate wildfire occurrence and times when weather dominates,” said Predictive Services Department Head Tom Spencer. “When they come together as they are now, you have the perfect storm, and wildfire becomes a force of nature.”
During high-risk days, outdoor activities that can cause a spark should be avoided. In the past seven days, Texas Forest Service has responded to 92 fires burning 82,560 acres.
