Wildfires race through Tarrant, other North Texas counties; structures burn in Hood County
Grass fires raced through pastures Tuesday afternoon in several North Texas counties including Tarrant County, threatening homes in various neighborhoods.
In Tarrant County, emergency crews were on the scene of a wildfire that burned fields and wooded areas near Kennedale in the southeast part of the county. The fire was near Kennedale Parkway.
In a news conference shortly before 5 p.m., officials said the fire was contained. It had burned about 75 to 100 acres and threatened about 15 structures. One structure suffered damage of about 30%. No injuries were reported.
Everman Fire Department Chief Landon Whatley said at the news conference that 16 fire departments responded. They included volunteer firefighters and personnel from other Tarrant County departments.
Earlier in the afternoon, some structures were surrounded by the growing fire, said Tarrant County Fire Marshal Randy Renois on Tuesday afternoon as he headed to the scene shortly after the fire began around 2 p.m.
An unknown number of people from several homes and businesses near Kennedale Parkway were evacuated, a police officer told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
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Kennedale city officials said the Kennedale Senior Center, at 420 Corry A. Edwards Drive, was open to the public for those who had to evacuate..
Kennedale city officials also noted that at least one structure was on fire from the blaze, near Kennedale Parkway and Little School Road.
Firefighters from many surrounding communities, including Fort Worth and Arlington, responded.
Evacuees
Vickie Chandler was at her East Kennedale Parkway home getting ready to cook dinner in her Instant Pot when she first saw the smoke. There was no evacuation order, so she kept working in the kitchen and keeping an eye on things.
She saw black plumes of smoke pouring into the sky behind her house but wasn’t too concerned. There were a few sirens. Then she smelled the smoke. She looked out her front door just in time to see a brush truck, a vehicle used to fight large grass fires and wildfires. She was concerned, but still no evacuation order.
It was about the time the smoke started pouring into her home that she heard a knock at the door. Police were there to help her evacuate. Chandler grabbed her phone, wallet and the family’s Green Cheek Conure bird, Jaws, and let a detective drive her to the Kennedale Senior Citizen Center, one of two places evacuees could go to safely wait out the fire.
Laura Smith, a city employee who works at the senior citizen center, said they had coffee, water, Coke and snacks for anybody who showed up, and they had more space available at the library.
Normally, residents who have to evacuate their homes are sent to the city’s recreation center. But that’s in the evacuation zone, Smith said.
City Councilwoman Jan Joplin said she was at the center to lend a hand however she could. Other city employees and residents were on standby to give transportation to anybody in need, she said.
Chandler and her family, who met her at the senior citizen center, were the only ones at the center, but others were at the library nearby. Smith had spent much of her afternoon running drinks and snacks over there.
Michael Chandler, Vickie Chandler’s husband, and their daughter Jennifer Chandler said they watched live video from a TV news station on their tablet to see the fire had made it to their back fence, creating a line of charred earth, but firefighters were able to contain the fire and keep it off their property.
But Vickie Chandler said it was a terrifying ordeal. And even though the Kennedale fire chief announced the fire has been contained, it’s still nerve wracking.
“I just want that all clear,” Chandler said. “For them to tell us, ‘You can go home now.’ “
Some of her neighbors have speculated about the cause of the fire, saying it started at the train tracks from sparks on the rails, but she said no trains had been through the area anywhere near the time the fire started.
Other fires
Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds said Tuesday fire crews were battling at least three wildfires in the county, where at least three structures caught fire.
A fire was reported south of Granbury on Mambrino Highway.
“Two structures are on fire there,” the sheriff said.
One structure was reported on fire near Tin Top Highway in north Hood County.
For the second consecutive day, crews were battling a grass fire in Wise County on Tuesday.
Wise County fire departments were at the scene of a grass fire near CR 3519 and CR 3420. Firefighters had stopped the forward progress but continued to mop up hot spots and heavy timber. Wise County Emergency Management said around 5:20 p.m. the fire had been contained and “resources are beginning to clear” but the scene was still active.
Crews asked for help from the Texas A&M Forest Service on the 70-acre fire in Wise county.
On Monday, a grass fire burned more than 250 acres in Wise County, destroying an abandoned building, but no injuries were reported.
Officials with Texas A&M Forest Service also reported on Tuesday a grass fire in Bosque County, where the blaze had burned 100 acres and firefighters had 0 percent contained.
In Grayson County, a fire had burned 300 acres Tuesday afternoon and firefighters had not contained that one, according to the forest service.
An elevated danger of grass fires continued Tuesday in parts of North Texas and farther west dues to strong winds, dry conditions and warm temperatures. Counties have issued burn bans to try to prevent fires.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 2:58 PM.
