Wise, Parker county grass fires threaten homes, sweep across rural North Texas land
Some homes in Parker County were evacuated Monday while fire crews battled flames near Ashwood Street and Highway 199, just west of Azle, as North Texas continued to be under an elevated fire danger, according to Parker County Fire Marshal Sean Hughes.
Hughes said around 5 p.m. that evacuations had stopped and the fire had been brought under control. He did not know how many homes were temporarily evacuated and said his office had not yet finished looking into how much damage was done.
No cause had been determined and an investigation into the fire was ongoing.
Live video from WFAA-TV showed a wall of smoke advancing toward rural homes around 4:30 p.m. Monday. The Parker County fire marshal told WFAA only empty structures were damaged in the fire, and no injuries were reported.
A grass fire in Wise County spread to what was believed to be an unoccupied house Monday afternoon, according to KTVT-TV.
No more structures were known to be immediately threatened as of Monday night, and no injuries were reported.
The Texas A&M Forest Service said about 10 p.m. Monday that the Wise County fire had burned an estimated 265 acres and it was 90% contained. Tanker planes were being used to dump fire suppressant on the flames and ground crews constructed a containment line around the fire.
Fire containment stayed the same overnight, a spokesperson for the forest service said about Tuesday morning.
“The fire was monitored last night and will be checked again today to ensure containment lines are holding,” Erin O’Connor, a program specialist at the Texas A&M Forest Service, said around 7 a.m.
The Wise County Office of Emergency Management said in a Facebook post Monday that crews from across the county were fighting the fire in the area of County Roads 4698 and 4699, near Boyd. The office asked people to avoid the area.
On Monday night, Wise County Emergency Management said that crews were expected to be working overnight and into Tuesday to fight the fire and watch for hot spots.
Wise County Emergency Management asked that all pilots avoid the area of the fire, or of any similar fires, as some other aircraft forced firefighting aircraft to be called off multiple times.
They’ve also asked for those interested in making donations to wait until after the fire is over and deliver them to fire stations as a way to replenish supplies.
KTVT-TV reported the fire in Wise County set the one unoccupied home ablaze around 4 p.m. and sent more than a dozen horses fleeing the flames.
Over the last week, the forest service said state and local firefighters have responded to over 175 wildfires that have burned over 8,400 acres due to wind and dryness.
“Texas A&M Forest Service will continue to work closely with our state, federal and local partners in order to protect Texas’ citizens and natural resources from wildfire,” said Al Davis, Texas A&M Forest Service interim director, in a news release. “We also ask the public to be careful and prevent wildfire ignitions this week.”
The Texas A&M Forest Service said it expects more widespread fires and has “staffed task forces and suppression equipment staged” throughout west Texas, including two large airtankers, three single-engine air tankers, two type 3 helicopters, two air attack platforms and two aerial supervision modules.
North Texas is also under elevated fire danger due to warm weather, high winds and dry conditions in the region.
Hughes said North Texans need to follow burn bans and be careful about cigarette butts and anything else that may cause sparks because of extraordinarily dry conditions in the region.
This story was originally published February 14, 2022 at 5:01 PM.