Residents of homes near Possum Kingdom Lake are back home and fire crews have left the area now that the wildfire named the Storage Fire in Palo Pinto County is out.
The wildfire charred 950 acres north of Texas Highway 16 and south of the lake. Wednesday morning the Texas A&M Forest Service declared it was "100% contained" and "all state resources have been released."
The Texas A&M Forest Service said the wildfire that started June 28 is suspected to be human-caused and is under investigation.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
One outbuilding was damaged Thursday afternoon but no other structures had been lost and no injuries were reported.
Residents have been urged to use caution as trees and utility poles may have been weakened by the fire.
EVACUATIONS ORDERED FOR THREE NEIGHBORHOODS
A mandatory evacuation was ordered Thursday afternoon for people in the Gaines Bend neighborhood along Possum Kingdom Lake's eastern shoreline.
The mandatory evacuation was later expanded to include the Sportsmans World Recreation Center and Hells Gate area, the Forest Service said. Storms that moved into the area Saturday helped in the firefight.
STATE FIREFIGHTER RESOURCES SENT TO SUPPORT RESPONSE
On Friday, Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to activate additional state firefighting resources in support of wildfire response efforts in North Texas.
"I am activating additional resources to help firefighters and other emergency personnel continue to respond to wildfire activity in North Texas," said Governor Abbott.
"Triple-digit heat in the region, and all across our state, continues to increase fire-prone conditions. As Texans gather to celebrate our nation's independence this weekend, it is important that we remember many of our favorite Fourth of July traditions, such as lighting fireworks and grilling, could inadvertently cause sparks leading to accidental fires. Texans are urged to remain weather-aware and take precautions to keep their families, friends, and communities safe from wildfires."
"The Storage Fire is growing rapidly to the north and west and these communities should take the opportunity to evacuate ahead of this threat," the Forest Service wrote on social media. "When people evacuate an area ahead of time, fire personnel can focus their efforts on protecting homes and [valuables] in a neighborhood."
EXTREME TEMPERATURES AND DRY VEGETATION FUELED FIRE
According to officials, crews were making progress Wednesday and Thursday using dozers to build a containment line on the flanks of the fire. Firefighters also conducted tactical firing operations to remove unburned vegetation between the containment line and active fire, officials said.
"The past two or three weeks of extreme temperatures that we've all been experiencing here in Texas have not done any favors for our grass and our brush," Adam Turner with the Texas A&M Forest Service said. "So, all of that nice green vegetation that we were seeing back in the end of May or start of June has dried up at this point. And so it's now available for fire again, like it was, you know, similar to last summer."
Turner said the heat also requires crews to take a lot of breaks, which slows down the containment.
"It is significantly hot out here so these firefighters just aren't able to work for as long as they might be able to on a cooler day," Turner said. "They're having to take more breaks so they can stay healthy."
It is too early for authorities to know if this fire season could be as destructive as last year when crews across Palo Pinto County battled more than 120 wildfires.
"We didn't have a lot of growth in 2022 because of the continued drought," Turner said. "We're not expecting anywhere near what happened in 2020 to this area."
FIREFIGHTING EFFORTS MOVE TO THE AIR
Firefighting aircraft were brought in Thursday to help overcome the challenges posed by steep terrain where the fire is burning, Texas Forest Service spokesman Eric O'Conner said.
"Palo Pinto County is notorious for really rocky soils," Turner said. "That makes it hard for bulldozers to work in and tears up vehicle tires. And it just, it's tricky footing for people walking around. There's another area that's relatively has a pretty significant ravine into it, and it is at this point probably not drivable by an engine."
On Twitter, the forest service confirmed fire retardant drops Thursday did diminish flames in the area.
The Mineral Wells Fire Department is among the agencies called to help in the effort.
"Low humidity, high temps, and rough terrain are all obstacles being faced, as numerous area fire departments attempt to extinguish the fire," Mineral Wells Fire wrote on social media.
According to officials, there are no reports of injuries and no homes have been lost or damaged as of this writing.
"There's a dozer line and then another 100 feet barrier between what's still burning inside of this fire and the exterior," Turner said. "The thought being is that if you can put a 100-foot space between the fire that's still burning in the outside, it's highly unlikely that it will jump out. If we are successful all the way around the fire, we can potentially see that containment number come up this evening."
It's not yet known what sparked the fire, O'Conner said.
Possum Kingdom Lake is about 100 miles west of Fort Worth.
TEXAS WILDFIRE MAPS
Palo Pinto County was the site of the unprecedented 2011 Possum Kingdom Complex Fire that burned for more than a month, consuming 126,000 acres and destroying 168 homes. Last year was the busiest fire year since 2011 and there were 123 wildfires in Palo Pinto County, according to the forest service. The largest of the 2022 fires, the Dempsey Fire, burned nearly 12,000 acres and threatened the town of Graford.
Check back and refresh this page for the latest update. As developments unfold, elements of this story may change.
