Giant Texas Fire Complex Claims 11 Lives

AMARILLO, Texas, March 15, 2006 (ENS) - Firefighters are battling the largest complex of fires in Texas history. Eleven people have lost their lives and 10,000 head of cattle have been killed in the grass fires that have spread since Sunday across 850,000 acres, or about 1,328 square miles of the Texas Panhandle.

Four men, all employees of an area drilling company, died while fleeing the fires when their vehicle became stuck in a ravine in Roberts County, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Seven other people have died from the grass fires - including two men who refused to leave their homes along with a woman who tried to save one of them. Four people from Oklahoma died in a nine car accident on Interstate 40 caused by low visibility from the giant fires.

Walls of flames — fueled at times by 55 mile an hour winds — literally burned livestock where they stood in some places, ranchers report. The flames came so quickly the cattle were not able to run from them.

Texas Forest Service firefighters and aircraft, along with fire agencies across the Panhandle tried to beat back the fires Tuesday, said Warren Bielenberg, a spokesman with the Texas Forest Service. But extreme fire behavior was reported due to high and gusty winds.

A line of fire races across the grasslands of the Texas Panhandle. (Photo courtesy Texas Forest Service)

In addition to the firefighting crews from Oklahoma and New Mexico who have been working in Texas since the weekend, six engine crews from New Mexico have arrived in the Panhandle.

Eight towns were evacuated - Hoover, Lefors, McLean, Miami, Old and New Mobeetie, Skellytown, and Wheeler - but residents in four of the communities have now been allowed to return to their homes. Evacuation orders were lifted Tuesday for Skellytown, Wheeler, McLean and Leflors.

Since Monday, aircraft have flown 133 missions and dropped more than 135,000 gallons of fire retardant. Those efforts are credited with saving about 450 homes.

Today's weather forecasts call for sustained wind speeds from 20 to 30 miles per hour, with gusts as fast as 40 mph, and low relative humidity and hot temperatures. Showers and thunderstorms could occur in the area late Wednesday into Thursday and there will be an even better chance of rain Friday and Saturday, weather officials said.

The Texas Forest Service urgently requests postponement of all outdoor burning while these dangerous weather conditions prevail.

In addition to the firefighting crews from Oklahoma and New Mexico who have been working in Texas since the weekend, six engine crews from New Mexico have arrived in the Panhandle.

Since February 27, Texas Forest Service fire crews have responded to more than 150 fires, an average of 17 fires per day in East Texas. The vast majority of these fires resulted from debris burning, according to Robert Grisham, regional forester with the state forestry agency.

“East Texas has benefited from some rains previously, but dead grasses dried quickly in the windy weather that immediately followed the rain events,” said Grisham. “Since the last rain, we’ve had a long enough period of dry weather that timber fuels have dried out as well."

Fire on the Texas Panhandle has spread across 850,000 acres. (Photo courtesy Texas Forest Service)

“Right now we are focused on containing the blazes, with heavy dozer crews on the ground and heavy air tankers dropping fire retardant,” said Texas Governor Perry. “We are also pre-positioning assets in preparation for the next 48 hours by bringing manpower and equipment from less threatened areas to high threat areas."

"We are using the largest air tankers available in the nation in this effort, and I have activated available air assets from the Texas Army National Guard – two CH-47 Chinook helicopters and two UH-60 helicopters – to fight these wildfires,” said the governor.

The Texas Farm Bureau is asking members in other parts of the state to step forward to help Panhandle farmers and ranchers in need. "There’s just incredible devastation everywhere for the people living up here," said Brandon Wheeler, agency manager in the Gray-Roberts County Farm Bureau office.

Wheeler has opened his office doors to accept donations of all sorts, including hay, fence posts and wire, personal items and monetary contributions for families, as many lost homes and barns in the wildfires.