*7:25pm – The Texas Forest Service (TFS) and Brownwood Fire Marshal Buddy Preston report that the fire is contained and crews are currently putting out hot spots. Officials estimate that between 40-50 acres burned during the fire. The TFS assisted with two helicopters and a survey aircraft. New photos are added below.
*Original story – Numerous firefighters from across Brown County along with support from McCullough County and Camp Bowie fire crews began fighting a brush fire shortly after 2:00pm Wednesday in the area of County Road 264 and County Road 265 approximately 5 miles south of the Camp Bowie National Guard Reservation in Brown County.
Brownwood Fire Marshal Buddy Preston reports that as of about 6pm, the fire was burning approximately 40 acres. Dry windy weather with humidity as low as 11% and winds gusting to 25 mph along with rugged terrain were making it difficult to fight the fire officials said. Fire crews were warned of cliffs and heavy brush along a ravine where the fire began to spread around 3:00pm. Initial tankers ran out of water quickly and crews had to wait on supporting departments to bring tankers of support.
At 3:15 a call was made for support from Texas Forest Service (TFS) support. A TFS plane came to survey the fire from above and directed the TFS helitanker where they needed to dump water, allowing room for ground crews to continue their battle against the blaze.
The area is mostly ranch lands and the blaze was moving away from homes in the area. None were directly threatened as of Wednesday afternoon. Crews are still working to contain the fire. Officials said that a spark from welding a fence in the area started the fire.
Check back for updates and photos as they become available.
Top photo taken from FM 45 Wednesday afternoon.
Photos below contributed.
Map below shows approximate location of fire
