FLOWER MOUND (WBAP/KLIF News) – As wildfires continue to burn across the Panhandle, North Texas fire departments sent crews to help out.
Since the fires broke out late last week, more than 16,000 acres have burned in Hartley, Oldham, Moore, Potter, Randall and Hutchison.
The Flower Mound Fire Department’s Brandon Barth said two of their firefighters and a brush truck are staged in Wichita Falls and are ready to respond when called.
He said team work between a network of departments is vital during a wildfire.
“The local resources tend to get taxed and having additional assistance is important. Also, wildfires can spread over very large areas very quickly so you need to have enough resources for that as well,” said Barth.
Forecasters have warned about the potential for wildfires over the past few weeks. Barth said the recent weather conditions created a perfect storm for wildfires.
“Very strong winds, warm temperatures and we’ve had low humidity. The Panhandle down to West Texas to South Texas are having high wildfire activity,” he said.
Barth said these wildfires could be an indicator of fire issues to come…so, the knowledge that departments will have help from their neighbors if needed is a blessing.
“It’s just Texans helping Texans. We’re very blessed to be in a resource rich state. So, being able to move resources around to assist those that are being affected when other areas are not…that’s what it’s all about,” he said.
The deployment is part of the Texas Intrastate Mutual Aid System and part of a larger strike team that includes members from Arlington, Coppell, Frisco, Highland Village, Lake Cities, Lewisville and Plano Fire Departments.
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