West Texas still on fire

Many of the fires throughout West Texas have remained unchanged in their status since Friday morning, with the exception of the Frying Pan Ranch Fire in Andrews County and the Wildcat Fire in Tom Green County.

Texas Forest Service in Midland spokeswoman Nicole Hawk said fire dangers are persisting today and people should remain cautious.

The Frying Pan Ranch Fire was given two different estimates by two different sources. Hawk and the TFS said the fire had burned between 20,000 and 40,000 acres and was 40 percent contained as of Friday.

However, Mike Cook, the 9-1-1 dispatch supervisor for Andrews County had estimated the fire between 90,000 and 100,000 acres. Cook also said the fire was 40 percent contained.

Firefighters on the Texas/New Mexico state line were optimistic about the blaze, but continued to watch in case the fire crossed over into their state.

The total number of acres burned so far in Pecos County was about 41,500. The Cannon Fire burned about 9,200 acres and was 40 percent contained, Little Smokey had the largest increase with 6,000 acres burned and 20 percent contained and the largest fire, the DRH, had burned about 26,200 acres and was 50 percent contained.

The Fort Davis Fire remained steady at about 165,000 acres burned and 70 percent contained.

Hawk said these numbers were updated last night and another update should be available later in the day as ground crews made those reports available.

C.J. Norvell, another Midland TFS spokeswoman, said because the winds were blowing from the north to the south, the Rockhouse Fire in Fort Davis was pushed south, allowing fire crews to scrub out grass in the northwest corner of the burn area.

Norvell said the operation will keep the fire from spreading further north when winds change to blowing northward on Saturday.

She also said air support was called in on the Cannon group of fires and particularly the Little Smokey, which had gotten out of control with the shifting of the winds.

“Yesterday they were saying in our meeting, “Little Smokey’s not Little Smokey anymore. It’s Big Smokey,’” Norvell said.

A fire just north of San Angelo also has grown exponentially since it was first reported a few days ago, she said, prompting evacuations in Tom Green County.

Norvell said the Wildcat Fire grew from 66 acres Thursday to 35,000 acres Friday.

She said it is a testament to how dry the conditions are an how quickly the fires move and grow.

As of 4:45 p.m. Friday, a mandatory evacuation was issued of Tom Green County north of San Angelo and east of Grape Creek.

The Odessa Fire Department also reported a grass fire at West 64th Street and Pheasant Road that was rekindled from a 4 a.m. fire.

Lt. Roddy Eaton with the Ector County Sheriff’s Office said that grass fire was part of a string of fires that are being classified as one in that area. Also in the area were fires at 64th Street and Moss Avenue and 64th Street and Flamingo Avenue.

Eaton said the fires were put out as of Friday afternoon but didn’t know how much area the fires burned.

12:50 p.m. Those road closures.

11:35 a.m. Road update: In Andrews County, SH 115 is closed again from SH 181 to SH 128. 

Other information: In support action, an Iraan crew member is taking a maintainer to blade on SH 349 at RM 2400. This is a DPS-approved request in Terrell County. An Odessa employee is also hauling El Paso's dozer to San Angelo in support.


10:15 a.m. Fires are continuing to burn across West Texas.

Texas Forest Service in Midland spokeswoman Nicole Hawk said fire dangers are persisting today and people should remain cautious.

The Frying Pan Ranch Fire in Andrews County near the Texas-New Mexico border has increased from 2,000 acres to 10,000 acres as of last night and was only 10 percent contained.

She said 50 residences and oil and gas operations were threatened.

The total number of acres burned so far in Pecos County was about 41,500. The Cannon Fire burned about 9,200 acres and was 40 percent contained, Little Smokey had the largest increase with 6,000 acres burned and 20 percent contained and the largest fire, the DRH, had burned about 26,200 acres and was 50 percent contained.

The Fort Davis Fire remained steady at about 165,000 acres burned and 70 percent contained.

Hawk said these numbers were updated last night and another update should be available later in the day as ground crews made those reports available.

The Odessa Fire Department also has reported a grass fire at West 64th Street and Pheasant Road that was rekindled from a 4 a.m. fire.

UPDATE 7:40 a.m. All area roads have reopened Friday morning, a TxDOT spokesman said.

Andrews County Sheriff's Office says two fires continue to burn, but didn't have more details.  

The fires around Texas are so chaotic that even firefighting representatives cannot seem to agree on what exactly is going on.

Shawn Jones, assistant PIO with the Texas Forest Service, said the Cannon group of fires in Pecos County were 100 percent contained in the morning, but C.J. Norvell with the Midland branch of the Texas Forest Service said the fires have never been fully contained and are only at 40 percent as of 8 p.m. Thursday.

Norvell said the DRH fire has burned 26,273 acres, the Cannon Fire, which combined with the Smokey Mountain Fire, burned 9,248 acres and the Little Smokey Fire burned 4,593 acres.

But Norvell said the Cannon Fire has grown and they do not have an accurate number on how much it has grown.

The fires are very near the interstate, she said, and people may even be able to see the fires from I-10.

Norvell said the Frying Pan Ranch Fire in Andrews County just south of Highway 176 near the Texas-New Mexico border had burned about 2,000 acres as of 8 p.m. Thursday. Norvell said Texas Forest Service resources were on the scene helping with the fire.

Texas Department of Transportation Public Information Officer Gene Powell said State Highway 118 was closed from Farm-to-Market 2371 to State Highway 115 at 8 p.m. Thrusday.

Enhanced mapping led to the upward revision of Fort Davis acreage burned from 133,000 acres to 166,000 acres following an aerial survey Wednesday.

David Hickman, spokesman with the Lonestar Incident Management Team, said the controlled burn outs stopped a couple days ago, but the better mapping led to more accurate numbers.

The fire is still 60 percent contained, he said, and the main concern Thursday is the northeast corner of the burn area, which still is smoldering and could be affected by winds coming out of the southwest.

Hickman said 99 percent of residents have power back and only 130 residents are without gas. Those without gas were supposed to have it by the end of the day Thursday, but Hickman said he wouldn’t know until after the reports this morning.

In terms of livestock, he said 150 cattle were lost and nine horses also were dead.

Hickman said it is important for people to avoid any actions that could start a fire in this type of weather, from throwing a cigarette butt out the window or using a fire barrel.

Meteorologist Alec Lyster with the National Weather Service said no relief is in the immediate forecast for any of West Texas, and much of the area will have increased fire danger warnings again throughout next week.

“Even though it’s going to be cooler (today), the dry air is going to take away any rebound,” he said.

Because of how long the drought has lasted, since September without any appreciable rain, Lyster said it would take more than just one large rain to call West Texas safe.

Several rains or a massive flood may mitigate the drought weather, but until then he said the high winds, warm temperatures and brown grass will mean fire danger for some time.

The winds will die down over the weekend, but Lyster said Sunday, Monday and Tuesday will present critical fire danger in West Texas again with winds picking back up.