Strong winds are causing the Eastland Complex of fires to spread rapidly
Map of Eastland Complex of fires in Texas at 6 a.m. March 18, 2022.
Dry, windy weather has created conditions in West Texas that has allowed multiple wildfires to spread across tens of thousands of acres. Several of the largest blazes are in Eastland County 45 miles east-southeast of Abilene. The passage of a cold front Thursday afternoon caused the fires to spread to the southeast as 15 to 25 mph winds recorded at a weather station near Eastland began gusting out of the northwest at 28 to 35 mph while the relative humidity dropped as low as 7 percent.
For management purposes the Texas Forest Service has grouped four of the incidents into what they are calling the Eastland Complex which has burned approximately 45,000 acres.
Eastland Complex of fires, near Carbon, Texas March 17, 2022. Texas Forest Service photo by M. Leathers.
The 36,000-acre Kidd Fire south of Eastland burned through Carbon March 17, heavily impacting structures. Evacuations and road closures are in effect in Carbon, Lake Leon, Gorman, and outlying rural areas.
The Wheatfield Fire northeast of Cross Plains has burned about 5,000 acres. Thursday it started moving in the direction of Rising Star after the passage of the cold front, but crews were able to stop its forward progression.
The Oak Mott Fire has blackened approximately 5,000 acres southwest of Rising Star.
The Walling Fire northeast of Cross Plains was mapped at 382 acres and is nearly officially contained.
A fire not in the Complex is the 586-acre Mariah Ridge Fire south of Cross Plains.
The weather forecast indicates conditions suitable for continued fire spread. On Friday the northwest winds will continue at 21 mph gusting in the 30s, but slowing to 8 mph by sundown and dropping to 2 to 5 mph Friday night. The Friday afternoon relative humidity will be in the low 20s with a high temperature of 63. On Saturday firefighters can expect a wind shift out of the southwest and south at 9 to 11 mph gusting around 20 with 75 degrees and 16 percent RH.
Multiple highway closures are in effect due to extreme fire behavior. See DriveTexas.org for the latest in closure information.
Two firefighters and two local residents were injured at a grass fire Tuesday afternoon southwest of Sinton, Texas. The firefighters were taken by helicopter to hospitals in Corpus Christi and San Antonio.
The blaze burned 385 acres off FM 1945 west of Love’s Truck Stop.
Sinton FD engine. Photo courtesy of Oscar Rivera, San Patricio County Sheriff. March 15, 2022.
San Patricio County Sheriff Oscar Rivera said, “The crew was trapped in the blaze and their fire truck burned to the ground.”
Sinton FD engine. Photo courtesy of Oscar Rivera, San Patricio County Sheriff. March 15, 2022.Sinton, Texas fire. Photo courtesy of Oscar Rivera, San Patricio County Sheriff. March 15, 2022.
At 3 p.m. on Tuesday a weather station near Mathis recorded 85 degrees, 37 percent relative humidity, and 9 mph winds gusting out of the south at 24 mph.
Fire Marshall Steven Loving said another fire in the area was started by a lawnmower as a resident was mowing his yard.
At least one large air tanker was used on the fire, including the RJ85 seen above.
Originally published at 9:03 p.m. Jan. 19, 2022
Rolling Pines Fire, Jan. 18, 2022. Mario V.
A prescribed fire in Bastrop State Park 28 miles southeast of Austin, Texas escaped on Tuesday. County Judge Paul Pape said 250 families were required to evacuate as the fire that was intended to burn 150 acres grew to 783 acres by Wednesday morning. At 6 p.m. Wednesday some of those residents were allowed to return to their homes. The fire was named “Rolling Pines Fire.” There were no reports of injuries or any residences that burned.
At 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday Texas Parks and Wildlife Department initiated the prescribed fire at the State Park. Shortly after noon spot fires occurred outside the area that was intended to be burned, according to Carter Smith, Executive Director of Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Texas is one of a few states that designate a county judge or sheriff, rather than fire professionals, to be *responsible for suppression of wildfires outside of incorporated cities. In Texas, judges take on that role. In a news conference County Judge Paul Pape said he is responsible for emergency response in Bastrop county.
Basrop County Judge Paul Pape. KXAN.
Judge Pape was asked by a reporter in a news conference Tuesday why on a day when local fire departments were advising residents to not do any outdoor burning due to strong winds, the state park decided to conduct the prescribed fire. He deferred the question to Carter Smith, Executive Director of Texas Parks and Wildlife, who said, “It is my understanding that we were well within the prescription of the weather parameters that were called for in the plan.”
Judge Pape said, “Based on everything they knew this morning, it was an appropriate day to burn. None of us can predict the weather more than 15 minutes ahead of time, and sometimes things happen we just don’t anticipate. I’m not going to be critical of the efforts to protect our citizens from wildfire by using prescribed burns. I think it’s a great tool and one that we need to continue to encourage people to use.”
A weather station near Bastrop, BTRT2, at 12:08 p.m. on Tuesday January 18 recorded sustained wind speeds of 16 mph with gusts up to 25 mph out of the south-southwest while the relative humidity was 53 percent. During the next four hours the RH dropped to 40 percent with south winds of 13 mph gusting to 23 mph. The 10-hour time lag fuel moisture during that time dropped from 11 percent to 8 percent.
With gusts over 20 mph it can be very difficult to keep a prescribed fire contained.
*In Colorado and Wyoming the County Sheriffs have responsibility for suppression of fires outside incorporated cities.
The National Transportation Safety Board has released their factual report on the crash of an AS350 helicopter that occurred March 27, 2019 during operations on a prescribed fire in Texas. Three people were on board, a pilot and two firefighters. The surviving firefighter and pilot were able to exit the helicopter; however, the second firefighter was partially ejected and sustained fatal injuries. The pilot suffered serious injuries and the surviving firefighter’s injuries were minor. The two injured personnel were transported to a hospital in stable condition after rescuers extracted them from the wreckage using jaws and air bags.
Daniel J. Laird. Tahoe National Forest photo.
The firefighter killed was Daniel Laird, a Captain on the Tahoe Helitack crew in California. He left behind a wife and young daughter.
Mr. Laird was a U.S. Forest Service employee who, along with the other firefighter and the pilot, were on an aerial ignition mission on the Sam Houston National Forest. Their equipment was dropping plastic spheres that burst into flame after hitting the ground, helping to ignite the prescribed fire. The ship came to rest outside the active area of the prescribed fire and there was no additional fire caused by the crash.
The pilot and surviving crew member reported that after completing the application of plastic spheres they began flying back to the staging area when the engine lost total power.
The March 27, 2019 helicopter crash in Texas. Photo by Sgt. Erik Burse/Texas Department of Public Safety.
Most NTSB accident reports are fairly straightforward, but this report, due to the way it is written, still leaves a small amount of doubt about the cause of the engine failure. However, signs point toward a loose fuel line.
“The fuel line between the firewall and hydro-mechanical unit (HMU) was loose and the required safety wire was not installed,” it says, and no other discrepancies were found. It does not say if the fuel line was loose enough to cause the engine to lose power.
From the NTSB report:
Federal Aviation Administration inspectors from the Houston Flight Standards District Office interviewed Mountain Air’s Director of Maintenance, who stated that on February 14, 2019, the USFS requested to validate the helicopter’s weight and balance. The helicopter was defueled, which involved disconnecting the main fuel line. After the weight and balance were verified, the main fuel line was reconnected. The director of maintenance asked another mechanic to verify that the fuel lines were reconnected, which was reportedly accomplished. The mechanic that accomplished the work informed the operator that he “was confident” that he torqued and secured the line. There was no other maintenance work which involved opening the fuel line after that day. On February 23, 2019, the helicopter’s engine would not light, and the engine’s igniters and/or igniter box was replaced. A maintenance records review found that the helicopter flew about 24.9 hours after the weight and balance was conducted on February 14, 2019.
On March 25, 2019, the pilot reported to management that the fuel pressure light had “flickered” during a flight “a few days before;” the pilot turned on the fuel boost pump, turned it off, and the light never reappeared. The pilot was informed to monitor the situation and report if it occurred again.
Following the accident, the digital engine control unit (DECU) was removed and sent to the manufacturer for data download. On April 11, 2019, the DECU was downloaded under the auspices of the FAA. The last recorded fault was a “P3 drift or engine flame out.”
The helicopter, N818MC, was owned Mountain Air Helicopters, Inc. The company has five other helicopters and a Cessna 414A registered with the FAA.
In 2015 two were killed in Mississippi under similar circumstances on a prescribed fire when engine failure brought down a helicopter conducting aerial ignition operations. A third person suffered serious injuries.
The helicopter involved in the March 30, 2015 incident in Mississippi, N50KH, is shown with doors removed and Pilot and PSD operator positions visible.
Our take
Flying low and slow in a single-engine helicopter while igniting fire below the aircraft is obviously very, very dangerous. These three fatalities offer very compelling justification for using drones for aerial ignition instead of manned aircraft.
400,000 acres burned in Kansas wildfires Wednesday
Updated 4:35 p.m. Dec. 16, 2021 CST
The red dots represent heat detected by satellites on wildfires near Russell, Kansas, as late as 3:06 a.m. CST Dec. 16, 2021. Clouds and dust at times blocked the view from the satellites and/or the light vegetation burned and cooled between satellite overflights. Therefore, the burned area is likely much larger than shown by the red dots.
A large wildfire in Russell and Ellis Counties in Kansas has burned approximately 96,000 acres and destroyed at least 10 homes, according to the Russell County Sheriff. Satellites were still detecting heat on the fire at 3:06 a.m. CST Thursday. The fire is north of Interstate 70, and is northwest, north, and northeast of Russell, about 7 miles from the city. (UPDATE at 1 a.m. CST Dec. 17: The Kansas Forest Service said the “Four County Fire” has burned 365,850 acres.)
The fire was pushed by very strong winds on Wednesday. A weather station at the Russell Airport recorded wind gusts of 100 mph, which is 26 mph higher than the minimum speed for a Category 1 hurricane.
Many other fires were occurring at the same time in Western Kansas and the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas (see below).
The Kansas Forest Service assessed the situation Thursday morning:
Wednesday pretty much stripped western Kansas of fire resources, between multiple major fires in critical fire weather, and many traffic crashes. Initial assessment indicates that 11 fires burned a cumulative acreage of nearly 400,000 acres. Further damage details are being assessed by local agencies at this time. Multiple resources will committed, likely for several days.
Dust picked up by the winds created visibility problems, requiring some highways to be closed Wednesday.
Satellite photo, fires in Oklahoma, and Texas, Dec. 15, 2021. The red areas indicate fires.
Eric Metzger, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Wichita, told the New York Times that before Wednesday, Kansas had not had any rain for over a month. The state has seen fires in December, when the weather gets dry, he added, but this one felt different.
“I’ve lived out here for more than 20 years,” he added. “This is historic for us.”
Satellite photo, fires in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, 3:51 p.m. CST Dec. 15, 2021. The red dots represent heat detected on fires by satellites.
Update on two fires in the Texas panhandle mentioned earlier, with information from the Texas Forest Service Thursday afternoon: The North 207 Fire between Pampa and Borger is listed at 23,810 acres. The Parker Creek Fire southwest of Dumas is estimated at 11,066 acres.
Thursday morning the Oklahoma Forest Service said the Cobb Fire in the panhandle had burned about 10,000 acres.
Originally published at 8:57 p.m. Dec. 15, 2021 CST
Map of fires in the panhandles of TX and OK. December 15, 2021.
Very strong winds in Kansas and the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma caused wildfires to spread very rapidly Wednesday. Blowing dust also caused severe visibility problems, and prompted the street lights to come on at noon in at least one area.
Oklahoma
Due to the Cobb Fire in the Oklahoma panhandle the Guymon Police Department in a 2 p.m. Facebook post on Wednesday encouraged the residents on the northwest side of town to evacuate. Heat data from satellites at 1:55 p.m. CST indicated it had burned approximately 5,000 acres northwest of Guymon. The Oklahoma Forest Service said at 7 p.m. it had grown to about 10,000 acres. The eastward progression toward Guymon had been stopped, they said, and one structure was destroyed. Wind gusts up to 79 mph were recorded in the area.
Cobb Fire. Oklahoma Forest Service photo. December 15, 2021.
Texas
Fires in the Texas panhandle were spreading to the east-northeast on Wednesday, also pushed by very strong winds gusting over 80 mph.
The North 207 Fire in Carson County has burned an estimated 15,000 acres about 5 miles southeast of Borger. The Texas Forest Service said it has crossed Highway 152.
North 207 Fire. Texas Forest Service photo. December 15, 2021.
The Parker Creek Fire started in Oldam County and spread into Hartley County southeast of Channing, about 14 miles south of Dumas. The TFS said at 6:08 p.m. it had burned 3,500 acres but satellite heat data indicates it could be larger.
Parker Creek Fire, December 15, 2021. Texas Forest Service photo.
Kansas
There are also numerous fires in western Kansas, also pushed by strong winds out of the west measured in at least one location at 100 mph. The New York Times reported that two fires merged in Russell and Ellsworth Counties in the central part of the state to form a massive blaze about 40 miles long, according to Eric Metzger, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Fire Weather Watch issued Dec. 13 for Wednesday Dec. 15, 2021. NWS & Google.
Critical fire weather is in the forecast Wednesday for southeast Colorado, western Kansas, and the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma. A Fire Weather Watch issued by the National Weather Service Monday morning predicts strong southwest winds Wednesday 35 to 45 mph with gusts to 65 and relative humidity in the low teens. Red Flag Warnings will probably be issued for Wednesday.
With the area experiencing levels of drought ranging from moderate to extreme, the fuels are dry and could be easily ignited.
Drought Monitor, Dec. 7, 2021.
Since December 7 the Energy Release Component (ERC) for the Texas panhandle has been setting new daily records for the highest ever recorded for those dates. On December 12 it was 72 while the average for this time of the year is in the low 40s. The ERC can help predict the intensity and rate of spread of a wildland fire. It is expected to remain in record-setting territory through at least December 19.
Energy Release Component for the Texas Panhandle, generated Dec. 13, 2021.
The Texas Forest Service has arranged for two large air tankers to be in the area to “support suppression efforts in Oklahoma and Texas as requested”. They are opening the Air Tanker base at Abilene.
