DENTON, Texas — Over the phone, Denton Fire Department's Battalion Chief David Boots described what he's seeing. "I'm seeing a helicopter that's about to drop 150 gallons of water right on top of this, so it's going to get loud here. Just a second."
He briefly paused the conversation. The blades of the helicopter, along with water falling, can be heard over the phone.
Boots is on the fire line just south of Carbon, Texas with his team. They are battling the Kidd fire, part of the overall Eastland Complex fire in Eastland County.
"We have our two Denton firefighters, Southlake, combination crews from Frisco, Plano, Greenville, Princeton, Fort Worth, Red Oak and Grand Prairie, as well," Boots told WFAA. "We've got a combination of a whole lot of folks from all over the metroplex just in our strike team of six vehicles."
On Friday, they worked until 10 p.m. On Saturday morning, the firefighters were awake by 6:00 a.m.
Boots said the situation was dicey as a fire line rushed toward them. "The house behind us, we were thankfully able to save a few hours ago," he said.
His team is bracing for worse weather conditions on Sunday.
Boots said, "The conditions are going to be terrible tomorrow, and anything that is not out has the potential to spark and catch the unburned area on fire." He said it's important to keep the fire line as cold as possible."
Grand Prairie Battalion Chief Jeremy Ashcraft said his department is prepared to send more firefighters to the Eastland Complex if needed.
"You just need people from all over, as many as you can get, to help with that," said Ashcraft.
He said the weather will play a key role in determining how much more this fire spreads. "The less winds and more rain is the best we can hope for."
Wildfires are unpredictable, which is why so many firefighters from across the state are in West Texas to protect and serve their neighbors.
"Good grief. It's decimated. It's terrible," Boots said. "Pray for the folks of Carbon and Gorman and up here in Eastland that have lost everything. It's pretty eye-opening whenever you see it firsthand."