A wildfire has scorched more than 3,200 acres of land in rural Palo Pinto County, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
Crews battled the flames – billed as the “Surprise Fire” – overnight after it broke out late Monday about five miles west of Palo Pinto and 60 miles west of Fort Worth. The forest service said the fire was only 40 percent contained as of 7 a.m. Wednesday.
The big concern now is fireworks. While big shows have been banned, officials say they worry about people setting off their own personal ones.
No buildings had been damaged, and satellite imagery shows few structures in the fire’s path. Rough terrain was presenting difficulties in battling the flames, the forest service wrote on Twitter.
The forest service was using eight aircraft to battle the fire Wednesday afternoon. Single-engine planes were out dropping flame retardant on the area surrounding the blaze.
A cause for the fire was not immediately known. The area, and much of North Texas, has been mired in a streak of temperatures at or near triple digits with no precipitation. It was 102 degrees with a 5 mph southeastern wind near Palo Pinto Tuesday.
"It’s burning all around us," said David Williamson, a resident whose home was saved from the fire. "I’m just glad we had a home to come back to."
Crews saved 11 other structures from burning up. Williamson and his family evacuated Monday to a hotel, and they're ready to do it again. Their bags are packed.
"We’re going minute by minute right now, and at any time, they could come get me again and say wrap it up, get," he said.
A video posted to Facebook Monday showed the sheer danger of it all, with massive flames nipping at the highway. Tuesday, firefighters fought mainly from the air.
"It’s a little hilly, it’s a little rocky, so we definitely have some slope issues," said Erin O'Connor with the Texas A&M Forest Service. She said crews, which have been brought in from all over the country, are doing their best considering what they're up against.
"When it's dry and hot and kind of windy, it's really conducive to active fire behavior, so more intense, more fast-moving fire," O'Connor said.
Williamson showed WFAA where the bulldozers went through his yard to create a fire line, protecting his home.
"We’re ready to go if we have to," said his wife, Jeri Hanson, who breaks into tears when she thinks about it.
"Scared," she said through tears. "Scared. Because we have our grandbabies right now and that’s the biggest concern."
They're incredibly grateful to the firefighters, calling them 'heroes.' But they're fearful also for what the Surprise Fire may still do.
Crews are accepting donations of food and water for firefighters at Center of Life in Mineral Wells on Highway 281.
Palo Pinto County banned the use of fireworks for Wednesday's Fourth of July holiday. Dry conditions forced many counties in DFW to put a burn ban in effect, though burn bans don't prohibit fireworks. The Johnson County Judge issued a disaster declaration Tuesday afternoon, effectively banning the personal use of fireworks there. Hood County and Parker County took similar measures.