North Texas Wildfire Finally Contained After Burning for Weeks

The Texas Tribune

FORT WORTH, TX — What’s left of grasslands and ranch land is black ash, tree debris and smoke. 

More than 23 days later, the fire in Palo Pinto and Jack counties continues to burn, but it’s fully contained, meaning response crews have eliminated all fuel along the fire’s perimeter on Wednesday, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service incident page. The Ross Fire, reported as 90,400 acres at its height, has also decreased to 89,989 acres. 

More than 500 firefighters have cleared trees, dry leaves, vegetation and scraped soil down to bare dirt. Little is left to potentially catch the flame. The end might be in sight.

This is a win for the group of firefighters who have worked relentlessly to fully contain the Ross Fire by Wednesday after weeks of struggling. Crews continue to tap out flare ups and eliminate easily ignited sources. 

The Ross Fire sparked on Aug. 24 near Palo Pinto and grew with extraordinary speed in the dry ranchland. By Aug. 25, officials reported that the fire had doubled in size in a few hours to about 50,000 acres. By Aug. 26, the estimate had climbed above 80,000 acres. In the first days of the fire, firefighters reported extreme fire behavior, including trees torching in groups amid strong winds.

Fire investigators with Forest Service and local law enforcement agencies determined that the fire started along a road and was caused by equipment or a vehicle, although the specific source couldn’t be determined.

The Ross Fire has taken the spot as the second-largest wildfire in the area’s history, according to the National Weather Service’s Fort Worth office, behind the Possum Kingdom Complex Fire, which burned 126,734 acres in April 2011.

The response team battling the Ross Fire includes small rural departments closest to the fire, the Texas A&M Forest Service and local fire departments around the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The steep and rocky terrain have made it hard to reach portions of the fire. The heat has been intense, forcing firefighters to take precautions, according to the Forest Service. 

Two injuries were reported among firefighters, said Adam Turner, a public information officer with the Forest Service, in early September. Turner said one involved a minor hand injury during a traffic collision last week, and the other was a minor eye injury that was treated on scene.

At least 167 structures, including 18 that were occupied by residents, have also been destroyed, according to an initial assessment by firefighters. 

School districts had delayed operations, ranchers have herded their cattle out of harm’s way and evacuation orders were issued in portions of Palo Pinto and Jack counties. Those have since been lifted.