Extreme Fire Danger: North Texas fire departments on standby as wildfire threat ramps up
Small fires pop up across North Texas
The winds have died down, but dry and breezy conditions fuel continued fire concerns into the weekend.
FORT WORTH, Texas - Powerful winds and dry grass and brush brought an increased wildfire danger to North Texas.
The winds have died down, but dry and breezy conditions fuel continued fire concerns into the weekend.
What We Know
Friday’s High Wind Warning and Red Flag Warning have since expired.
The combination of dry conditions and strong winds heightened the risk for grass fires to spread rapidly. Rain and storms are unlikely.
North Texas grass fires
Firefighters were out in force on Friday, putting out blazes before they spread too fast.
Parker County crews helped contain several small grassfires. One of them in Wise County prompted evacuation orders for several homes.
FOX 4 crews got to the scene as firefighters were dousing hot spots on the scorched ground.
Another sparked in Grand Prairie right on the Arlington border. Firefighters from both departments worked to put it out.
"No structures at the moment are at risk. We’ve got some grass and some piles of logs and woods that we’re gonna have to spend some time mopping up and getting them completed out so they don’t restart," said Arlington Fire Battalion Chief Jeff Durand.
So far, no injuries in North Texas have been reported.
First responders on standby
Fire departments on standby as fire threat ramps up
So far, DFW has not seen any major fires, but the extreme threat is far from over.
Local perspective:
Gov. Greg Abbott increased state resources to fight possible wildfires that could ignite during Friday's windy conditions.
North Texas fire departments are on heightened alert and on standby for any possibility.
City departments and the Tarrant County Fire Marshal’s Office have increased staffing and more tools on hand.
They’re responding to most calls with more than the typical number of engines. Brush trucks and wildland-trained firefighters are among the teams on standby.
Firefighters in Fort Worth returned on Friday to the scene of a small structure fire that began the day before in the backyard of a home.
A specially equipped brush truck was brought in because of the embers getting kicked up by high winds and landing on a nearby tree.
"With the embers and winds today, that’s going to cause that pick up, casting embers," said Fort Worth Fire Lt. Brant Frazier. "We actually had a concern of embers casting across the alleyway and potentially catching other structures."
Frazier is a specially trained wildland fire crew member. He and more than a dozen others with that distinction were added to bolster staffing with Fort Worth Fire.
There are also more resources on the ground.
Arlington firefighters have also beefed-up staffing and increased available firefighting apparatus for this day, which could result in brush fires wherever there is open land.
Fire officials are taking major precautions due to the dangerous conditions caused by the high winds, low humidity and no rain.
"It’s probably been since 2011, potentially even 2009, the last time we’ve seen these types of conditions," said Frazier.
Hazy Dallas skylines
Dig deeper:
Friday’s strong winds have kicked up dust in the Texas Panhandle, where winds blew more than 80 miles per hour.
The dust has even made its way into North Texas, with several tower cameras showing hazy-like skies across DFW.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the National Weather Service, interviews conducted by FOX 4's Dionne Anglin and previous FOX 4 reporting.