Officials said that although the wildfire is rapidly growing near Fort Hood, Texas’ sprawling military base, it poses no threat to infrastructure or lives.
The Crittenberg Complex is a trio of wildfires that erupted in Coryell County, Texas. It was 55 percent contained as of Monday evening. the Texas A&M Forest Service said.
According to InciWeb, grass and brush are the main fuels for the fire. The fire has been fought by around 80 people.
Although there are no evacuation orders in effect, fire officials advise residents living in the surrounding areas of Flat and Fort Gates to be ready to evacuate.
The fire did not result from controlled burns at Fort Hood, but it was most likely caused by soldiers performing live-fire training using small arms on weapons ranges and mortar training several days earlier. military officials said on Twitter.
“Late last week, we thought we had things pretty well in hand,” but changes in wind conditions and hotter temperatures escalated the fire on Sunday, Col. Chad Foster, Garrison Commander at Fort Hood, said during a news conference on Monday.
In a span of about two hours, winds picked up and its direction changed, “which caused the situation to deteriorate quite a bit,” he said.
According to the National Weather Service, a red warning, which indicates severe weather conditions, was in place for large portions of Texas on Tuesday. Other parts of Texas were under wind advisory.
On Tuesday, South-Central Texas was forecast to have slightly higher relative humidity levels. However, winds gusting up to 25 MPH and gusts of up to 40 MPH were expected throughout the night.
“Fuels remain unusually dry, and this is leading to an active season of wildfires that are difficult to contain,” meteorologists said. “Any outdoor activity that could lead to the development of sparks and resulting wildfire potential is highly discouraged.”
“This is not going to be a 48-hour fire,” Mary Leathers, a spokeswoman for the Texas A&M Forest Service, said during the news conference on Monday. “This fire is going to last several days, if not weeks.”
Officials won’t leave the fire, she said, “especially with the conditions that Texas is experiencing right now.”
“So with that being said,” she continued, “people need to be vigilant out there and do what they can to reduce fire starts.”
Officials battled the Eastland Complex fire that was burning in an area west of Dallas-Fort Worth. The fire claimed the lives of at least one person, and destroyed many homes. It has burned almost 55,000 acres and is now 90 percent contained. officials saidMonday late
Source: NY Times
