Emergency crews and first-responders made headway on a wildfire that broke out in Palo Pinto County and traveled north into Jack County, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
More than 30 firefighters from Parker County Emergency Services Districts joined the fight, according to Jason Ingram, ESD-1 deputy chief of Operations. They left Monday and returned about 2 a.m. Thursday, with 10 firefighters working each long shift. They took with them three brush trucks and a tanker.
“They’re back now, getting some rest,” Ingram said.
The Ross fire started about noon Monday, Aug. 24. The Texas A&M Forest Service (TFS) was brought in to support local departments across both the southern and northeastern flanks of the fire, and it spread into Jack County about 1 a.m. Tuesday.
As of 6 p.m. Wednesday the Ross fire had burned about 80,000 acres in Jack and Palo Pinto County, with only 12% containment.
A letter to the office of the governor requested assistance through the Texas Division of Emergency Management, Texas A&M Fire Service (TFS), Texas Department of Public Safety and any other state agencies with additional firefighting personnel and equipment, aviation assets, incident management resources, evacuation and sheltering assistance, law enforcement support, heavy equipment, and communications resources.
About 4:30 p.m. Tuesday wind speeds picked up, and the defensive hold was unsuccessful. The city of Bryson was ordered to shelter in place.
An evacuation order was along FM 4 because the weather conditions and the winds were pushing the head of the fire to the west. However, there was another weather shift and overnight the fire began to move toward the Bryson area.”
The Jack County Sheriff’s Office, DPS, and Texas game wardens went door-to-door throughout the evacuation area to make contact with residents while local fire departments and outside responding agencies provided structure protection.
The Pinnington solar project enacted emergency procedures and was deenergized as the fire drew closer; the transformer and substations were surrounded by fire but sustained little to no damage, though vegetation under some of the solar panels caught fire and damaged units.
The affected area received an outpouring of local support through the “Cowboy Army,” which arrived to help move livestock out of the path of the fire.
Environmental hazards were a factor, and smoke limited visibility as the fire approached the Barton Chapel and Senate wind farm projects.
As the fire continued to burn into Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning and winds picked up, the fire started moving southwest of Bryson.
First-responders began assessing the area and conducted several controlled burns to strengthen their defensive line while air support arrived to help flank the edge of the fire near the wind farms.
All evacuation orders were lifted Wednesday, roads were reopened and residents were able to return to their homes.
As residents began to assess the amount of damage left by the fire, many were thankful for the actions of first-responders and their local community.
Ronald Swanson, who retired to the area about six years ago, said first-responders backburned on his property in an attempt to slow the forward advancement of the fire.
“I talked to the guys from TFS and they said they have to do this because they’re not going to stop this fire and they didn’t want it jumping Highway 380,” Swanson said. “The head of it was coming here…if they hadn’t stopped it, it would’ve been real bad for me.”
Swanson planned to cut his hayfield after the next rain, but TFS set it on fire, and he said he was glad for it.
Ashley Anderson of the Jacksboro Herald-Gazette contributed this report.
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