Palo Pinto County wildfire continues to grow
PALO PINTO CO., Texas - Firefighters are trying to contain a grass fire that has already burned hundreds of acres in Palo Pinto County.
The Texas A&M Forest Service said the Storage Fire is located about 65 miles west of Fort Worth and south of Possum Kingdom Lake. It has burned about 511 acres and is about 40% contained.
Crews from several agencies, including Mineral Wells Fire and EMS, worked overnight to try and contain the flames.
They performed a "tactical burn" in an attempt to get ahead of the fire and stop it from spreading.
"Crews are going to be out here again today working to increase that containment number and working to make sure that this fire stays in the box that we built around it at this point," said Adam Turner with the Texas A&M Forest Service.
Crews are on rotating shift in the battle to fully contain the wildfire scorching dry terrain.
Assistance has come from Erath, Parker, Wise, Tarrant, and Dallas counties.
They are fighting against the rough and vast terrain, as well as high temperatures and lower humidity.
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The smoke is impacting air quality issues for poor and Black communities that already are more likely to live near polluting plants and in rental housing with mold.
Crews are hoping the wind stays down Thursday, so they can continue making progress.
"It is a little cooler today. We've had some higher humidities. So it should be a little bit better out there for our firefighters. But we do have that increased risk of spotting that we're going to have extra resources out there available and watching out for just to make sure," Turner said. "With higher winds, we have a higher risk of what we call spotting. That's when a small ember, maybe burning from a bush or burning pile - something that wasn't extinguished last night - can be picked up by that floating wind and blown quite quickly across whatever containment line we build around it."
Officials described the fire as "human caused," meaning someone did something to start it.
This wildfire has prompted a very necessary message from authorities as the July 4th holiday approaches.
They’re urging people to consider safety ahead of celebrating with fireworks, given the heat, dry conditions, and limited firefighting resources.
"When things are not wet, not green anymore, now we're suddenly looking at anything that lands in those grasses or that brush, whatever's dry and available, is going to start that much quicker," Turner said.