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175 Texas fires have torched about 95,000 acres in the past week. But one major fire is now under control

March 22, 2022
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“Firefighters set up a line at Star Hollow Road south of Lipan and that’s where they stopped it from spreading,” the tweet added.

Hood County, located on the Edwards Plateau, is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area. Erath County, to its west, is where two of North America’s largest renewable natural gas plants are located.

Over the past week, firefighters have been trying to protect people and homes as 175 wildfires burned about 95,000 acres across Texas, the state’s forest service said Sunday.

As of Sunday, there were 23 active wildfires, Texas A&M Forest Service spokesperson Erin O’Connor said. The largest was the Eastland Complex Fire ripping through central Texas.
The complex was a combination of four fires Saturday, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. By Sunday, three more fires had been added, totaling an estimated 54,015 acres and only 30% containment, the forest service said.

The seven fires in the Eastland Complex Fire include:

  • Kidd Fire, Eastland County (42,333 acres, 40% contained)
  • Blowing Basin Fire, Eastland County (est. 258 acres, 50% contained)
  • Cedar Mountain Fire, Eastland County (est. 179 acres, 0% contained)
  • Oak Mott Fire, Brown County (4,031 acres, 75% contained)
  • Wheat Field Fire, Eastland County (7,268 acres, 55% contained)
  • Mangum Fire, Eastland County (est. 11 acres, 85% contained)
  • Walling Fire, Eastland County (383 acres, 100% contained)
The four initial fires that formed the Eastland Complex Fire began Wednesday and Thursday, the forest service said. More than 140 structures are reported destroyed, fire officials said, without differentiating between homes, businesses or outbuildings.

On Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott said at least 50 homes across three communities had been destroyed.

Some relief may come Monday afternoon as the region is expected to be in the path of severe storms and could get up to two inches of rain, CNN Meteorologist Robert Shackelford said. Statewide, the severe weather could impact up to 20 million Texans throughout the afternoon and evening hours, Shackelford added.

Abbott directed the state’s emergency management office to mobilize several units and put them on standby for rapid deployment, including two search and rescue teams and multiple swiftwater boat teams.

The Eastland Complex Fire rages across central Texas Sunday.
At least one person has died as a result of the flames. Eastland County Deputy Sgt. Barbara Fenley died Thursday night as she helped evacuate people in the town of Carbon, about 100 miles west of Fort Worth.

She was last heard from while on her way to assist an elderly person, the Eastland County Sheriff’s Office said.

Amid deteriorating conditions and low visibility from smoke, Fenley ran off the roadway and was killed in the flames, the sheriff’s office said.

Abbott, who on Friday issued a disaster declaration for 11 counties, including Eastland, ordered flags be flown at half-staff in Fenley’s honor.

“We will never forget her sacrifice,” the governor said.

CNN’s Claudia Dominguez, Paradise Afshar, Holly Yan and Christina Maxouris contributed to this report.





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