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Fire departments prep for potential wildfires
As Gov. Greg Abbott prepares state resources to fight potential wildfires, North Texas fire departments are getting ready as well.
DENTON, Texas - As Gov. Greg Abbott prepares state resources to fight potential wildfires, North Texas fire departments are getting ready as well.
Local perspective:
Thursday was a day of preparations at Denton County Emergency Services with Friday’s forecast expected to bring extreme fire danger to North Texas.
High winds, low humidity and warm weather can cause wildfires to turn out of control.
With a Red Flag Warning in effect, Denton County has its brush trucks packed up.
Wind gusts Friday could go as high as 60 miles per hour.
What they're saying:
"The gusty winds are just as dangerous because they can start the fires," said Denton County ESD 1 Fire Chief Ricky Vaughan. "The trees move, hit power lines. Power lines cause sparks. Next thing you know, you have the wind pushing those fires."
Denton County ESD 1 serves a population of 45,000, including the cities of Argyle, Copper Canyon, Bartonville, North Lake, Corral City and unincorporated parts of the county.
Chief Vaughan calls it a complex fire district.
"We have neighborhoods. We have golf course neighborhoods. But we also have 100-acre ranches," he said. "It’s that wildland urban interface where you have populated areas next to rural areas where you have a lot more risk of wild land fires."
What's next:
"We have prepositioned a lot of resources in different offices throughout our area," said Juan Rodriguez with the Texas A&M Forest Service.
The agency says it will provide extra personnel for the ground, airplanes, heavy equipment and more engines.
Crews are pre-staged in North Texas, West Texas and the panhandle.
Gov. Abbott on Thursday deployed additional state resources in preparation for the fire threat.
The Texas Panhandle is already seeing an increase in the number of fires in the past 24 hours. So far, the fires have been manageable.
Fire crews from out of state are already here from Utah and Maine to assist.
The fire chief in Denton County says watching the weather is critical, especially going into Friday morning. That's when he will make the call on whether he wants to call in additional crews to be on standby.
The Source: Information in this article comes from Gov. Greg Abbott's Office and interviews conducted by Reporter Peyton Yager.