** Update January 20, 10:00 a.m. - Texas A&M Forest Service and Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) firefighters and equipment continue to assist with wildfire operations on the Rolling Pines Fire in Bastrop County. As of January 20 at 10:00 a.m. the wildfire is 783 acres and 58% contained.
The containment lines held during the wind event last night. Heavy woody debris that would have continued to smolder and produce smoke for multiple days was more fully consumed overnight due to those higher winds.
Night shift patrolled and continued mop up. Day shift will continue that mission, securing containment lines specifically focusing on the southern edge.
There have been no reports of injuries or damage to residential structures. All evacuations and public road closures from this fire were lifted by yesterday afternoon.
Between local and state resources, there are approximately 190 personnel responding, including fire engines, heavy equipment, law enforcement and overhead. Aviation resources will continue to be available today, staged at ABIA and in Abilene. A plane will fly overhead mid-morning to provide increased situational awareness to ground leadership.
Please continue to use extreme caution when driving along Highway 21 and in the impacted neighborhoods.
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** Update January 19, 2:40 p.m. - On Tuesday, January 18, Texas A&M Forest Service responded to a request for assistance in Bastrop County on the Rolling Pines Fire. As of January 19 at 2:40 p.m., the wildfire is 783 acres and 30% contained.
For information on the cause of the wildfire, see the statement from Texas Parks and Wildlife https://bit.ly/3KpWjiz.
The fire was initially very active, immediately threatening over 100 homes. An estimated 250 citizens were evacuated to emergency shelters in both Elgin and Bastrop.
Texas A&M Forest Service has responded to the wildfire with dozers, engines, large airtankers, and a Type 3 Incident Coordinator. Currently eight Type 1 engines, 15 Type 6 engines, three Type 3 engines, and four water tenders and around 200 state and local personnel are assigned to help fight the wildfire. Overnight, good progress was made with both bulldozer-created containment lines and patrol and mop up operations using engine crews.
Fire behavior moderated greatly overnight. High overnight humidity recoveries and low winds will allow firefighters to continue with direct operations today. A wind shift from the north is expected late this afternoon. Smoke is still visible across the fire area due to interior vegetation that continues to burn, but there is no threat to containment lines at this time.
For frequent updates, follow @AllHazardsTFS on Twitter and visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7927/.
To contact Texas Parks and Wildlife, email news@tpwd.texas.gov or call 512-389-8030.
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January 18, 12:30 p.m. - Texas A&M Forest Service readies firefighting resources today in anticipation of an increase in wildfire activity caused by pre-frontal conditions approaching the state.
The fire environment will include elevated to critical fire weather, with above normal temperatures and wind speeds near 20 mph, aligned with freeze-cured grasses across the landscape. This combination will support increased wildfire activity.
Forecast fire danger will be high to very high for portions of the Rolling Plains and Cross Timbers regions, specifically for areas around Plainview, Wichita Falls, Weatherford, Lampasas and San Angelo.
State and local firefighters, including Texas A&M Forest Service and Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS), responded to 97 wildfires since Friday morning for an estimated 7,460 acres burned.
Strong north winds and dry vegetation contributed to increased activity over the weekend, which included the 1,696-acre Mill Creek Fire in Shackelford County, the 787-acre Martin Fire in Young County and the 177-acre Carbon Camp Fire in Hutchinson County.
In anticipation of increased fire danger on Tuesday, Texas A&M Forest Service has prepositioned additional agency personnel and equipment, including 11 dozers and four engines, across areas of concern.
“Any time the forecast indicates that there is potential for wildfire activity, we mobilize resources to strategic locations to provide assistance to local fire departments and cooperators,” said Wes Moorehead, Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Chief.
Texas A&M Forest Service and Texas Division of Emergency Management worked together to mobilize two strike teams via TIFMAS to provide wildfire incident support prior to this weekend’s increased activity.
“We greatly appreciate our state, federal and local partners that continue to diligently work together to protect Texas’ citizens and natural resources from wildfire,” said Moorehead.
Two large airtankers, three single engine air tankers, two air attack platforms and one aerial supervision module remain in state to assist with wildfire response efforts.
Texas A&M Forest Service encourages the public to avoid outdoor activities that may cause a spark while dry and windy conditions are present.
For current conditions and wildfire outlook, visit the Texas Fire Potential Outlook https://bit.ly/3kemhbG.
Texas A&M Forest Service does not own any aviation resources but instead uses federal aviation contracts through the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management for all firefighting aircraft.
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Texas A&M Forest Service Contacts:
Information Officer, 979-255-0591, information@tfs.tamu.edu
Communications Office, 979-458-6606, newsmedia@tfs.tamu.edu