Texas wildfires grow to 9 active fires on Friday. See where
Mateo RosilesWhat started as five wildfires burning across Texas on Friday morning has grown to nine, with eight in the Texas Panhandle and one in West Texas, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
The state's overall wildfire preparedness level was bumped up to Level 2—the second-lowest level on a five-point scale— after starting the day at Level 1.
The day before, the forest service responded to eight wildfire requests covering roughly 24,700 acres on Thursday.
Here's where each active fire stands as of Friday morning.
Active fires in the Texas Panhandle
On Friday morning, there were four fires already burning in the Texas Panhandle.
As of 1 p.m., here's a look at where they are and their containment level:
- Line Fire in Oldham County. 10,000 acres at 65% contaiment at 1:49 p.m.
- Hunggate Fire in Randall County. 14,000 acres at 40% contaiment at 11:30 a.m.
- Shifty Fire in Potter County. 5,227 acres at 95% contaiment at 12:44 p.m.
- Roman Fire in Hartley County. 2,000 acres at 75% contaiment at 1:11 p.m.
By Friday afternoon, four additional fires popped up in the Texas Panhandle.
They are:
- Chocolate Chip Fire in Randall County. 1,500 acres at 0% contaiment at 1:21 p.m.
- Cherokee Fire in Briscoe County. 2,000 acres at 0% containment at 1:38 p.m.
- Chainey Mountain Fire in Hall County. 500 acres at 0% contaiment at 1:10 p.m.
- Daylor Creek Fire in Childress County. 500 acres at 0% contaiment at 1 p.m.
To check their status, visit the Texas A&M Forest Service Incident Viewer.
As the Amarillo Globe-News, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported, some mandatory evacuation orders — particularly for the Hunggate Fire near Canyon, Texas — have been lifted.
Active fires in West Texas
West Texas is currently seeing one active fire — the Crooked Cook Fire — near Matador, Texas.
According to a 1:07 p.m. update, the fire is still active, covering about 1,388 acres with 85% containment.
Texas Wildfire map: Where are the fires currently?
Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at [email protected].