FRITCH, Texas — Breathtaking moments captured by Fort Worth firefighters of fire raging and plumes of smoke show the devastation and destruction in the Texas Panhandle where there’s at least five massive wildfires burning across the region.
“There's a lot of acreage burned and we have only so many resources to go and build line around it,” said Texas A&M Forest Service PIO Adam Turner. “So we've got a lot of ground to cover and only 24 hours in a day.”
Turner made the five-hour drive from Mineral Wells earlier this week to help. He spoke with WFAA Wednesday from just outside of Fritch, Texas, where the Windy Deuce Fire had grown to about 40,000 acres and was about 20% contained.
“You know, five separate fires that might have been just small fires on a normal day, but have quickly grown and expanded into very large and you know, significant wildfires,” Turner said. “We have resources from all across the state of Texas here now.”
Those resources came in from Dallas, Fort Worth, Farmer’s Branch and McKinney, to name a few, sending crews and equipment.
“We have a Type 3 fire truck which is it carries 750 gallons,” said McKinney Fire Battalion Chief Ben Jones. “We sent two personnel and teamed up with Allen to send a couple of extras.”
A decision Jones says was a no brainer.
“We rely on Texans to help Texans a lot,” he said. “Those little communities, they don't have the resources that we do. So it's we're we're always eager to get get out there and lend a hand.”
It’s still too soon to know how much damage there is.
“Up here in the Panhandle, ranching and agriculture are large aspects of the economy, so when you are seeing hundreds of thousands of acres bearing, you know that's somebody's livelihood,” Turner said.
Homes, farms, ranch land and animals are all in danger and all relying on these firefighters for relief.
Click here to learn how you can help and donate to the Texas Wildfire Relief Fundraisers.
