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North Texas wildfire updates: Latest locations, containment, damage and conditions
WFAA, our sister station in Dallas, is tracking each of the wildfires that crews have been battling across the North Texas area.
DALLAS — Wildfires broke out across North Texas this week, and hot, dry conditions were here to stay.
Temperatures were expected to rise again into the 100s on Tuesday, and no rain was in the immediate forecast.
We’re tracking each of the wildfires crews were battling across the North Texas area.
Here are the latest updates:
A large wildfire has burned hundreds of acres near Possum Kingdom Lake in Palo Pinto County as crews continue to work on extinguishing it.
Farm-to-Market 1148 east of Chapel Road was closed and evacuated Monday as the fire moved quickly north. Officials say at least eight homes were destroyed, but no one has been hurt.
As of Tuesday morning, 500 acres had burned and the fire was about 10% contained. The fire had destroyed five homes, according to officials at the scene.
Overnight, crews worked to burn off fire fuels in the area and create a perimeter around the fire and other structures, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
A wildfire in Somervell County, southwest of Fort Worth, nearly tripled in size overnight, growing from around 1,200 acres to 4,000 acres just west of Glen Rose, officials said.
The Chalk Mountain Fire was 10% contained and “remained very active overnight,” according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
The fire had spotted over Farm Road 205 in multiple areas, the Forest Service tweeted on Tuesday morning.
Crews were continuing to work on protecting structures in the area and create a containment line.
The fire department says crews have been working to relocate animals that are threatened by the fire.
Somervell County also issued a disaster declaration due to the fire.
The Red Cross has opened an overnight shelter at the Somervell County Expo Center for those impacted by the fire.
Crews continued to battle the King Creek fire in Kaufman County, between Kemp and Rosser.
The fire was about 450 acres in size and was 75% contained by late Monday night. Residents were advised to stay clear of the area as firefighters battled the blaze. Crews were working with dozers to create lines around the fire that are free of fuels such as plants and grass.
Latest wildfire conditions
The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for all of North Texas on Tuesday, as hot and dry conditions were expected to persist. Our last measurable rain at DFW Airport was on June 3.
What causes a bad wildfire season?
Extreme drought and extreme heat are a bad combination when it comes to wildfire risk. We saw this in 2011, when we had a record-breaking wildfire season in Texas.
Numerous fires burned over 1,000 acres. Six of the 10 largest wildfires in Texas history happened in April 2011 and more than 4 million acres in total were burned across Texas.
The summer of 2011 saw more than 70 triple-digit heat days and it was also the worst one-year drought period in Texas history.
Our conditions currently aren’t much better; all of North Texas is under some form of drought conditions, while a large chunk of the region is under “exceptional” and “extreme” drought conditions, according to the latest Texas Drought Monitor.