Letter from Forestry Service Coordinator Tells Residents to Heed Another Fire Warning for Palo Pinto County
Good morning,
Tomorrow, March 17th 2022, conditions are favorable for a Southern Plains Wildfire Outbreak (SPWO) to occur, and any spark could create devastating wildfires in your area. Texas A&M Forest Service is encouraging residents to be mindful of any outdoor activity that may cause a spark, and to take immediate actions to protect themselves and their homes.
The area that is at greatest risk resides in a box that extends from Childress to Midland to Del Rio to San Antonio and back up US HWY 281 through Stephenville, Palo Pinto county, Decatur, and up into Oklahoma. This includes much of the western region in the DFW area, Wichita Falls, Abilene, San Angelo, and Frederiksberg. Areas west of I-35 can also expect to see elevated fire danger but are not at risk of a SPWO. Fire danger will not diminish after tomorrow either, with high fire danger expected to continue through this weekend.
To prepare for this event we have brought in additional resources to increase our capabilities. We will have a total of 10 Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) engine strike teams, 5 fire engines, located around the state including ones in Decatur, Mineral Wells, and Eastland. In Waco we will have 2 Strike teams of Bulldozers waiting to respond to anywhere they are needed across the state as well as higher qualified overhead. Texas Military Department is also activating several helicopters to assist with wildfire response, including 2 chinooks in Grand Prairie.
We, Texas A&M Forest Service (TAMFS), would appreciate your assistance in disseminating information to your local community through news articles, broadcasts, social media, or other means. Attached are graphics that can be used at your discretion. We are encouraging local residents to be mindful of any outdoor activities that may cause a spark, which may include unsafe debris burning, welding, using heavy equipment, and dragging trailer chains along the roadway. Should a wildfire occur, early evacuation is strongly encouraged to get residents out of harm’s way.
I and other TAMFS Public information officers (PIOs) are available to answer any questions related to wildfire prevention and response. If you have any questions or need additional information on wildfire response and prevention topics, please reply and I will be happy to assist.
Please follow our Wildfire Education and Prevention Facebook page for daily wildfire prevention information: https://www.facebook.com/wildfireeducation.prevention/ and visit this website for more media resources:https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/mediaresources/. You can also follow updates on Twitter at All-Hazards TFS.
Thank you for doing your part in preventing wildfires in Texas.
Adam Turner
Wildland Urban Interface Coordinator
Mineral Wells
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