Posted on 12/28/2005 7:16:52 AM PST by Peanut Gallery
The tinderbox that is North Texas erupted Tuesday into wind-blown grass fires that torched homes in Tarrant and Hood counties and blackened thousands of acres across the region.
In Hood County, flames destroyed 20 to 30 homes, displacing 50 to 75 people, officials said.
Five homes in Arlington and three in Kennedale were seriously damaged or destroyed, officials said.
Near Gainesville, a woman died trying to protect a home from fire, authorities said.
"I can't tell you how fast these fires have ignited," said Traci Weaver, a spokeswoman for the Texas Forest Service. "It's just crazy."
Gov. Rick Perry issued a statewide disaster declaration Tuesday afternoon and ordered the deployment of four Texas Army National Guard helicopters to drop water on the fires, along with two single-engine air tankers from the U.S. Forest Service and two helicopters from the U.S. Forest Service.
Perry's staff said they were "closely monitoring the situation in Tarrant County and are deploying equipment and manpower to threatened areas as quickly as possible."
State and local fire officials have warned for weeks about the danger of widespread fire.
Rainfall has been about half the normal amount this year. Tarrant County has received 18.97 inches of precipitation, according to the National Weather Service. Normally, the area gets 34.44 inches by Dec. 27. The drought, combined with 25-30 mph winds and unseasonably warm temperatures, created an extreme hazard Tuesday, said Lt. Kent Worley, a Fort Worth fire department spokesman.
"Everything was perfectly aligned for this to happen," Worley said.
A cool front moved into the area about 5 p.m., he said, but conditions will remain dangerously dry.
"We've got to have the public's help," Worley said. "For the foreseeable future, they must be extremely careful with any kind of flame."
Tarrant County
In Kennedale, a fire that started in a field off Steeplechase Trail was quickly blown east toward Joplin Road.
Along the way, flames devoured three houses, five barns and 300 acres, Kennedale Fire Chief Scott Raven said.
"The terrain out here is pretty rough and heavily wooded," Raven said. "It was difficult to reach a lot of the fire. And the wind changed directions every couple of minutes. It made it very tough."
A little after 3 p.m., with a basketball tournament just hours away, John King, coach of the Arlington Seguin High School boys team, watched the fire approach the back of his home.
"It got within 40 or 50 feet from our back fence," said King. "We're back there fighting it with shovels and water hoses and sprinkler systems - anything we could find.
"Fortunately, we were blessed. It didn't get to our house."
However, he said, the houses of "two or three" of his neighbors in Steeplechase Estates and of his college roommate, who lives several streets over, had extensive fire damage.
As soon as the fire was under control, King tried to clean up and then drove to Haltom High School in time to see the fourth quarter of Seguin's 68-50 win over Waxahachie.
In Arlington, fire destroyed at least five homes in the area around the 5000 block of Mitchell Parkway. Residents scrambled to protect their homes.
Chris Shelton rushed home from Watauga after hearing that the fire was approaching his house but found the street blocked off.
So he drove down a nearby street, climbed a fence and turned on his sprinklers. Unlike many nearby, his house was spared.
"It was so scary." Shelton said. "I have a serious phobia about fires."
The blaze came within yards of Clois Tunnell's home in the 6700 block of U.S. 287 South. Tunnell, 82, has lived on the property since 1939. His house and barn were saved, but 4 1/2 acres were scorched.
"Just some hay is all," he said. "Don't worry about it. It'll grow back."
His great-grandson Toby Poore used a water hose to try to keep a burning pile of hay bales under control. The effort was futile, and he eventually gave up.
Arlington fire Battalion Chief David Stapp said a major focus was keeping flames away from the Park at Addison Park and Falcon Lakes apartments. The blaze burned the fences surrounding the large complexes, but the buildings weren't damaged.
Three firefighters were treated at hospitals for smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion, he said.
"We had guys really busting their butts," Stapp said. "If not, we would have lost those two apartment complexes."
In Colleyville, firefighters -- and neighbors -- were not able to save Gerard LeBlanc's house in the 5700 block of Lowrie Road.
LeBlanc, 48, said he was at the mall and "I came home and turned the corner."
"There was smoke and fire trucks -- it was just awful," he said.
The fire may have been caused by sparks from a power line running along the fence bordering his one-acre lot, Colleyville fire Chief Mike Johnston said.
Neighbors said they tried to extinguish the flames but the wind was too strong.
Doris Biasatti, 49, said she grabbed a water hose.
"But it got to the bushes out front, and once it reached them, it was just too late," Biasatti said. "So my son and I went to the house next door and moved their dogs to our house, just in case."
Worley said Fort Worth firefighters tackled about 40 blazes.
Hood County
Flames from a grass fire burned between 20 and 30 houses in subdivisions in southern Hood County, said Hood County sheriff's Lt. Billy Henderson.
"The fire marshal is still out evaluating the damage," Henderson said Tuesday night. "And there are still some hot spots."
As the flames approached, authorities had a difficult time persuading some residents to leave, he said. Many were arriving home from work and were confused.
"It was a matter of explaining to them why they couldn't go back to their homes," Henderson said. "That was the hard part."
One firefighter was flown by helicopter ambulance to Harris Methodist Fort Worth hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and exhaustion, but the firefighter "should be OK," Henderson said.
Officials would not release the firefighter's name or condition.
About 50 to 75 people displaced by the fire found refuge in the Mambrino Baptist Church, 1625 Mambrino Highway in Granbury, which had been set up as an Red Cross evacuation shelter.
"For now, it's a safe place for people to go who can't get back into their neighborhoods," said Anita Foster, a spokeswoman for the regional American Red Cross.
"As soon as we can get into the neighborhoods, we'll get a better picture on how many homes have been lost and what the plan is for those families down the road," she said.
Johnson County
By 9:30 p.m., about 45 grass fires had been reported in Johnson County, officials said.
"They have just killed us since about noon," said Sgt. Donna Young, supervisor over dispatch for the sheriff's department. "We've been extremely busy since then. It's been crazy."
There were no reports of house fires, but at least one storage building burned and several homes were threatened, said Gerald Mohr, emergency management coordinator for Johnson County.
Mohr said that every fire department from Lillian to Cleburne was working to control the fires. As of 5 p.m., Mohr said, Johnson County had not asked outside agencies for help.
"We've been able to take care of our own," he said.
Parker County
Firefighters fought two major fires in Parker County.
In southern Parker County, 10 departments responded to a fire that started near the 7700 block of Wolf Hollow south of Interstate 20. An hour later, a fire broke out near another subdivision in the 200 block of South Mountain Ridge in Cresson on the Parker-Hood county line near U.S. 377 South.
Late Tuesday, a sheriff's dispatcher said she was not aware of any serious damage to structures.
The county extended its ban on outdoor burning until Feb. 27. The ban does not include fireworks, but Parker County Judge Mark Riley urged vendors not to sell missiles with fins and skyrockets with sticks.
Wise County
Firefighters from across the county converged on four or five blazes, officials said.
Weaver, the Forest Service spokeswoman, said one fire was caused by a welder.
He had a water hose, but the fire "just took off" and jumped Farm Road 730 south of Boyd, she said.
Officials cannot order workers not to use welding torches in these conditions, but do urge them to watch for sparks, have lots of water available and, ideally, to work early in the morning.
Callahan County
A Methodist church and at least 25 homes were destroyed in Cross Plains, a town of about 1,000 people 115 miles west of Fort Worth, where a grass fire spread so rapidly that authorities blocked roads to traffic and firefighters continued to battle the blaze Tuesday night.
About 5,000 acres burned, Weaver said.
"All day today there was so much smoke it was like nighttime," rancher Dean Dillard told The Associated Press in a phone interview after spending the day with neighbors trying to put out house fires.
"Houses are just burned down that nobody could ever get to," said Dillard, a former city councilman. "Instantly, there were 15 or 20 houses on fire at same time and no way to get around to all of them."
Dillard, who sent his family out of town as the fire approached, said the scene is not something he will soon forget.
"It looked like we had been bombed in a big war, the whole city was on fire everywhere," he said.
SAFETY MEASURES
LPG tanks should be far enough away from buildings for valves to be shut off in case of fire. Keep area around the tank clear of flammable vegetation.
Store gasoline in an approved safety can away from occupied buildings.
All combustibles such as firewood, wooden picnic tables, boats, stacked lumber, etc. should be kept away from structures.
Clear roof surfaces and gutters regularly to avoid build-up of flammable materials such as leaves and other debris.
Remove branches from trees to a height of 15 feet or more.
Have fire tools handy such as a ladder long enough to reach your roof, shovel, rake, and a bucket or two for water.
Place connected garden hoses at all sides of your home for emergency use.
Assure that you and your family know all emergency exits from your home.
Make sure you and your family know all emergency exits from your neighborhood.
Source: Texas Forest Service Alex Branch, (817) 390-7689 abranch@star-telegram.com
ping
BOLO ping.
One fire was 3/4 miles from my house. I don't know how many cows that guy lost. They were due to calve around May/June.
Bingo! Have seen it happen time and time again as smokers toss their cigarettes from their car windows into the dry medians and it is dry in TX and in OK because of lack of rain and higher than normal temperatures.
My Dad lives near Granbury...
We *were* planning on shopping out there today. Not going afterall.
You know, these were the big fires... I was driving in Arlington at Cooper and I-30 earlier in the day and there were two separate fires from Collins all the way back to Cooper. Three fire engines were there to put it out. Then 2 or 3 hours later in the day, I heard on the radio (rush hour traffic report) about the fire on I-20 at 287.
I try to start a perfectly good flame war and they don't show up.
Spit'n Copenhagen has never started a brush fire.
Hubby said you could smell the smoke clear over into Richardson yesterday.
It's not smokers in general, but the irresponsible ones that irk me to no end. Yes, I notice the guilt they must be feeling < /smirk>
Well, coming south on Cooper towards I-30, there was what at first appeared to be fog. I seriously thought it was a car fire at first. Then I noticed the color of the smoke and how far it (and the traffic back-up) stretched. When I heard the report at rush hour, I was headed towards 635. I didn't smell the smoke in Dallas, then again, I did have my A/C on. It was otherwise a great day to be out.
Huh, having the A/C on in December! For a moment, I almost thought it was summertime.
"I try to start a perfectly good flame war and they don't show up."
Grumble grumble I'm a smoker, grumble.
Actaully I am a smoker, but I never throw my buts out the window.
The Perfect Fire?
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