Update – 11:45am 4/16 – The following is a brief update to reflect any significant activity following yesterday’s Texas Forest Service Evening update.
NEW FIRES
Eastland County – County Rd.104 – 1,000 acres
CARRYOVER FIRES
Wichita County, Wichita County Complex –
Iowa West Fire, 35,000 acres, 80 percent contained. There were 7 homes and 6 out buildings lost with 27 direct saves.
Kent, Stonewall, Fisher and Scurry Counties – Cooper Mtn Ranch Fire. – 149,000 acres. There were 4 homes lost. Fire has pushed back into Scurry County as well. 15 percent containment.
Stephens County, PK West Fire and Palo Pinto County, Hohertz Fire – 45,000+ acres. 31 homes destroyed. These two fires have now merged into one long, large fire. An Incident Command Post has been established near Strawn.
Tom Green County, Wildcat Fire north of San Angelo – Firefighters worked late into the night on the Wildcat Fire. Overnight, the wind has shifted and is expected to provide relief for communities south of that fire. Aerial resources will continue to focus their efforts in that area around communities.
Houston County, No. 251 Fire – 70 acres. Three homes threatened and saved. Fire is contained.
Trinity County, No. 254 – 61 acres. Fire is contained.
Currently there are approximately 1,250 firefighting personnel being managed by the Texas Forest Service from 34 states assigned to Texas fires. This figure does not include Volunteer Fire Department responders.
Yesterday (Friday, April 15), Texas Forest Service responded to 20 new fires burning 4,274 acres. In the past seven days, TFS has responded to 95 fires burning 722,891 acres. In the past seven days, 1,460 homes and structures have been saved on TFS fires. 151 homes and structures have been lost. 195 Texas counties are reporting burn bans.
Texas Forest Service current updates-
New large fires from Friday:
WICHITA COUNTY COMPLEX, Wichita County. 3,500 acres, 25 percent contained. The complex is made up of three fires – Iowa West, Holiday, Missle – burning around Wichita Falls. Shepard Air Force Base was threatened, as were hundreds of homes and apartment complexes around the area. Twenty homes are reported destroyed.
EAST CADDO, Callahan County. 300 acres, contained. No additional information was received.
HUBBARD, Stephens County. 400 acres, unknown containment. One (Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) strike team is working the fire. No other information was received.
EAST SIDWYNICKS, Eastland County. 300 acres, unknown containment. The fire is burning near Carbon City. No other information was received.
Uncontained fires from previous days:
ROCKHOUSE, Presidio and Jeff Davis counties. 164,879 acres, 70 percent contained. 23 homes and 2 businesses were destroyed in the Fort Davis area. Two heavy air tankers have been requested to assist this morning with containment efforts south of the Limpia Crossing Subdivision and McDonald Observatory. Neither location is threatened at this time. Ten 20-person hand crews continue to work the fire. Eight TIFMAS Type 1 engines and four tenders are assisting with the fire, as well as numerous airtankers and helicopters. A base camp for hundreds of firefighters has been set up at the Fort Davis State Park.
COOPER MOUNTAIN RANCH, Kent, Stonewall, and Fisher counties. 149,000 acres, 15 percent contained. A wind shift yesterday pushed the fire south towards Camp Springs. Four homes have been destroyed. TFS task forces and TIFMAS strike teams are actively fighting this fire.
SWENSON, Stonewall, King, and Knox counties. 103,394 acres, 90 percent contained. The fire is burning near Swenson. A slopover occurred Friday on the southeast side of the fire.
FRYING PAN RANCH, Andrews County. 80,907 acres, 40 percent contained. This fire is 25 miles WNW of Andrews. Numerous homes were threatened, but none have been lost.
WILDCAT, Coke County. 41,958 acres, 10 percent contained. This fire is burning north of San Angelo. More than 400 homes have been saved. The communities of Grape Creek and Quail Valley are threatened. If a southerly wind returns today, the town of Robert Lee to the north could be threatened.
PK WEST, Stephens County. 30,000 acres, unknown containment. This fire is burning near Possum Kingdom Lake. 200 homes are threatened and 31 have been destroyed. TFS task forces and two TIFMAS strike teams are actively fighting this fire. This fire may burn into the Hohertz Fire. National Guard Blackhawk helicopters are assisting.
HICKMAN, Midland County. 16,500 acres, 98 percent contained. 34 homes were destroyed, 62 homes were damaged on this fire south of Midland.
HOHERTZ, Palo Pinto County. 15,000 acres, unknown containment. 1,200 homes have been threatened, none reported lost. The fire is moving toward Strawn. This fire may burn into the PK West Fire.
CANNON FIRE COMPLEX, Pecos County. The complex of three fires is burning 50 miles east of Fort Stockton. The Cannon Fire is 9,248 acres and 80 percent contained. The DRH Fire is 26,284 acres and 80 percent contained. The Little Smokey Fire is 27,895 acres and 60 percent contained.
POST OAK, Hardin County. 796 acres, 90 percent contained. Four homes and four outbuildings threatened. The fire is 11 miles northwest of Kountze.
McPHERSON, Sutton County. 1,500 acres, 15 percent containment. The fire is located 20 miles southwest of Sonora.
JUSTICEBURG EAST, Stephens County. 300 acres, 95 percent contained. The fire is burning near Justiceburg.
SUTTON, Crockett County. 4,248 acres, 50 percent contained. The fire is burning 20 miles southwest of Ozona.
Yates Field (formerly Iraan), Pecos County. 300 acres, 40 percent contained. The fire is burning 10 miles southwest of Iraan.
LUCAS, Stephens County. 400 acres, 95 percent containment. The fire is 11 miles southeast of Breckenridge. Multiple structures were evacuated.
SCHEZZOW, Kerr County. 400 acres, 90 percent contained. Two structures were threatened and saved; one outbuilding, one vehicle and one bobcat skid-steer were lost. The fire is 22 miles west of Kerrville.
ENCINO, Tom Green County. 12,659 acres, 90 percent contained. This fire is 13 miles west of San Angelo. Ten homes threatened and saved. Two homes were threatened and received damage.
