The Dempsey Fire six miles west of Mineral Wells, Texas has crossed the Brazos River in several places. It was very active again Saturday, but not to the extreme levels seen on Friday.
When the fire was mapped by an aircraft at 8 p.m. Saturday the northwest side had reached Fortune Bend Road and spotted across. The northeast side of the fire was close to Wrangler Field and had not reached Grassy Ridge Road or Lewis Road. It was about three miles south of Graford, one mile west of highway 337, and two to three miles south of highway 254.
To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Dempsey Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.
The size at that time, accounting for the large unburned areas along the river, was about 10,000 acres. Sunday morning the Texas Forest Service reported it had burned 11,597 acres.
On Saturday crews continued to construct line, hold the fire along roadways, engage spot fires, and hold the fire along the Brazos River where they could. Aircraft assisted firefighters on the ground with drops from helicopters and air tankers.
The weather forecast for the fire area issued at 5:55 a.m. Sunday calls for sunny skies becoming partly cloudy after 3 p.m., 100 degrees, 25 percent relative humidity, and 9 to 13 mph winds out of the west shifting to the northeast in the afternoon with gusts to 23 by 5 p.m. The variable wind direction should slow the growth to the north, but will be a challenge to firefighters as they work to remain safe as the direction of spread changes.
That is a Monster fire, I hope to God they can contain it. I will prey for all firefighters involved in this fight!! We need to do a Indian Raindance here in my home state of Texas. We might be surprised of the outcome! May all Texans prey a silent pray.
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Looks like they are still practicing Social Distancing down there in TX