Critical fire risk remains in Texas as more blazes erupt
Howling winds and low humidity incited Texas’s second major fire flare-up in four days on Sunday. A third round is possible Monday after a surge of blazes that have burned about 100,000 acres across the state.
Texas’s Eastland Complex, the state’s largest group of fires, grew from four to seven blazes on Sunday and has burned over 54,000 acres according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. The fires are just 30 percent contained and prompted new evacuation orders on Sunday.
The complex, about midway between Abilene and Fort Worth, has destroyed over 140 structures and was blamed for the death of a deputy sheriff who was helping evacuate residents on Thursday. Hundreds of people have been forced from their homes.
Across Texas on Sunday, as gusty winds fueled new blazes, firefighters responded to 37 new requests for assistance while evacuation orders were issued in Montague, Erath, Hood and Brown counties.
Four firefighters were injured battling the Big L Fire in Erath and Hood counties, according to a local news release. That blaze burned 11,000 acres about 55 miles west of Fort Worth. As of Monday, the local news release stated the fire is “under control” and that the evacuation order “has been lifted.”
As evening approached yesterday, the #GOESEast 🛰️ monitored the smoke from numerous wildfires that ignited across Texas and Oklahoma. The fires are being fueled by favorable weather conditions including warm temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds. pic.twitter.com/zt62zKe0Nk
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) March 21, 2022The majority of active blazes on Monday were burning in Central Texas between Dallas and Midland, while a number of smaller fires that erupted late last week and over the weekend were contained or put out.
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But officials feared new fires could develop on Monday.
“There is increased potential for large, difficult to control wildfires to occur today in Southwest Texas, specifically for areas near Del Rio, San Angelo, San Antonio and Laredo,” the Texas A&M Forecast Service wrote on Facebook.
The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings for dangerous fire weather for much of western half of Texas in effect through Monday evening.
“A combination of strong winds, low humidity and dry fuels will contribute to extreme fire behavior,” the warnings state.
Wind could gust up to 40 mph amid relative humidity values below 20 percent.
Forecasters are particularly concerned about a dry line — a narrowly focused zone of arid, windy weather — ejecting from the Desert Southwest on Monday as a vigorous weather disturbance pushes into Texas.
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“This will result in critical fire weather conditions, especially from mid to late afternoon,” the Weather Service office in San Angelo wrote in a discussion.
As this dry line moves into eastern Texas, it will encounter a surge of warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico causing thunderstorms to erupt. These storms, which could produce large hail and tornadoes, combined with the humidity, mean a much-diminished fire threat in the zone from Austin to Dallas and points east.
The Weather Service said fire weather conditions should abate some in the western part of the state Monday night as winds ease and humidity increases. However, the fire risk could increase again in the middle of the week as humidity levels drop and winds ramp back up.
The burst of fires in Texas have occurred as widespread drought covers the state. Moderate to exceptional drought conditions affect more than 90 percent of state, according to the federal drought monitor.
In its spring outlook posted Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted drought will persist and potentially worsen into June.
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