Grass fires elsewhere in the drought-stricken region had apparently destroyed a couple of tiny Texas towns. Other fires had destroyed homes and forced hundreds of people to evacuate in Oklahoma and New Mexico.
Posted on 01/02/2006 7:43:14 AM PST by JustaCowgirl
CARBON, Texas -- Weary firefighters worked through the night attempting to contain three major fires, including one 25-mile-long blaze that charred farm fields, barns and some homes in Eastland County.
Grass fires elsewhere in the drought-stricken region had apparently destroyed a couple of tiny Texas towns. Other fires had destroyed homes and forced hundreds of people to evacuate in Oklahoma and New Mexico.
Officials warned that the dry, gusty conditions and extreme fire danger would continue.
"We don't know where we will be today," Oklahoma City Fire Department Maj. Brian Stanaland said Monday morning. "At this point, we consider the whole city a target for grass fires."
Helicopters and airplanes were lined up to join the battle Monday against the lengthy, 22,400-acre blaze near Carbon and Gorman in Eastland County, about 125 miles west of Dallas, said Texas Forest Service spokeswoman Traci Weaver.
Firefighters were close to encircling the fire early Monday, but were concerned that a fore shift in wind would complicate efforts, Weaver said.
Crews flying over other sections of northern and western Texas to assess the damage Sunday reported the tiny communities of Ringgold and Kokomo, together home to about 125 people, had essentially been wiped out by flames, Weaver said.
Crews planned to conduct a house-to-house search Monday for casualties in the two towns, as well as in Cross Plains, about 25 miles west of Carbon, where more than 90 homes and a church were destroyed by flames last week. In all, four deaths were reported last week in Texas and Oklahoma.
In Carbon, Bill Sandlin and his wife packed up their clothes, pictures and his gun collection, then drove off just as flames started to engulf their house and three barns.
"We hate losing our stuff, but at least everybody's OK," Sandlin said.
About 20 homes were burned out in the 13-mile stretch from Ringgold to Nocona, Montague County Judge James Kittrell said Monday. Six homes were destroyed near Mineral Wells, Weaver said.
Dozens of fires blackened the Oklahoma landscape as wind gusted to 50 mph, including 25 blazes within Oklahoma City that forced the evacuations of two neighborhoods. Four homes were destroyed, Stanaland said Monday.
Altogether, dozens of wildfires swept across more than 5,000 acres of Oklahoma and destroyed at least a dozen homes on Sunday, said Michelann Ooten, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Emergency Management.
Just across the Texas state line in New Mexico, 170 elderly residents were moved out of two nursing homes in Hobbs on Sunday, and a casino and community college in the town of 29,000 were evacuated.
On Monday, crews were mopping up after the four fires that blackened more than 65,000 acres of grassland and burned more than a dozen houses and barns in the Hobbs area.
"It's real calm; nice and cool," Dan Ware, New Mexico state Forestry Division spokesman, said Monday morning. "Basically, all the fires laid down and just kind of went to bed."
Most of the evacuated nursing home residents had been sent back to their quarters Monday, but 60 residents of one of nursing home and 50 to 75 other residents of the Hobbs area were still evacuees, said Ernie Wheeler, Hobbs emergency operations center director.
Ware had cautioned that the calmer overnight conditions wouldn't mean the area was out of the woods.
"As soon as the temperature comes up tomorrow (Monday), as soon as the wind comes up _ bam, we're off to the races again," Ware said Sunday.
Some guys in the OHP were talking to dear hubby yesterday, sharing stories of how they pulled folks over for tossing lit ciggy butts out the window and hammered them for it. To a one, they complained the fine was "too harsh." How "harsh" would it be if someone set THEIR land and home on fire with such disregard, I wonder?
I sure hope the Republicans can come up with a strong candidate for governor next election. I've had more than enough of the 'Rat in office now.
I went back and read the posts and came to the same conclusion.
No kidding. All he's brought us is Indian casinos and smoke shops, from what I can see.
I haven't kept up with OK politics in recent years, but what happened to Steve Largent? Didn't he run against this guy? Why didn't he win?
P.S. For some reason, this thread doesn't show up in my US: Oklahoma sidebar and I had still been adding to the other threads on this topic.
My weather radio has just announced thunderstorms here in central Indiana, a bit east for any help
Well; what do you expect??
Bush won't sign Kyoto, so it's HIS fault and GOD is punishing Texas for giving us such a bad leader!!!
[sarcasm_mode_off]
"...what happened to Steve Largent? Didn't he run against this guy? Why didn't he win?"
Several factors: Largent ran a poorly organized campaign that did not face the issues with real answers; there was a third party candidate (former Repub) that sucked votes away; a vote was taken on a state question on cockfighting which drew out voters, mostly Demo, in SE Okla.; Henry got former Sooner football coach Barry Switzer to support him with $ and TV ad endorsements.
While I agree he is a poor governor, he was definitely the smarter candidate.
I don't know that I understand how that works, but I did mark it as an Oklahoma topic in the Topics list.
Oh, now I understand. Except I don't think the libs think there is a God. Maybe the Goddess is punishing Texas. And Oklahoma was one of the 100% red states, I believe. So She's (the Goddess) turning us red, I guess.
*gasp* Barry did this? He's too young to be getting senile. I liked Steve L; worked with him on some FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) projects when I still lived in OKC and he was in ... well, now I can't recall, maybe Arkansas? Close enough to go back and forth easily. Good man, anyway.
I see JC on a late night infomercial that runs sometimes. Well, wish I could be up there!
Yeah, I know you did--that's why I didn't understand (still noobee) it not showing up.
I double-checked again just now and this thread still isn't there, but one about Ringgold is:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1550749/posts
I give up. At least this is in my own pings now.
Oh, I figured it out - this is "Front Page News" and can only go in one place on the sidebars, so that's better--just means it won't be in the "Oklahoma" one, except when clicking that topic itself.
Tomorrow may bring more fires, according to all forecasts, so I want to keep up with this. Sorry for interrupting with housekeeping questions.
So sorry to hear about the losses in your family. Had you seen the other threads where we also talked about this--others there you might want to share with.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1550378/posts
No problem, I learned something from that, too.
We'll just say a prayer about tomorrow.
?
Indeed! A coffee can with a lid in the car is the perfect answer for car smokers and shooting off fireworks or burning trash is just dumb. Unfortunately things like a spark from a passing train can also start grass fires.
Continuing prayers for those in the path of fires and for those who fight them.
May God comfort those who have lost so much.
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