Texas is Burning

We are running our tails off in North Central
Texas. We have had fires of 1200,500,150,acres just this week in our county .I honestly belive we are in for it the next month. We are already over budget and our overtime is out the roof with guys working when they should be sleeping. And yet as tuff as it is getting we are still getting No help from the Texas Forestry Service No Air Support No Nothing. (but another fire)
I had a talk with our Assistant Chief he is trying to get all the paper -work through to the TFS to get them moving but so far nothing. It seems we will have to have a huge one to get some help. I pray it dosen't come to that. In the 13 yrs of my firefighting carrer I have never seen tis county so primed to flash. Any one know of some RAIN?????

Capt. Easley:

The Texas wildland fire season is usually much later in a given year. December, January ,etc. It looks like Texas is having an early fire season this year. The TFS is hosting the 2nd annual Capitol Area Wildland Fire Academy & W/UI Conference October 19-31,1999 in Bastrop. Contact number is:512-303-9749. maybe I'll see you and some of your FD members there?

The northeast is in drought with our KBDI
running around 650-700. Almost desert like conditions in some areas. But, the fires have been few and small. If the drought continues into this fall, that will change.

DFCWINS


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I don't know where you get your info. but Texas Wildfire Season is from app. mid-July through September. With a second season in winter. No snow to provide a cover so we burn the dried grass from the late growing season. I hope we do recieve rain soon.

Our experience - 2 seasons in our area of Texas (north central) - December, January (sometimes February, but not this year) and mid-July through September.

We're well underway, check our grass fire stats http://www.gvfd.org/alarm.htm

Don't know where we can get a January fire season in Texas. I've been here all of my 40 years and have yet to see Texas burn in the middle of winter.Maybe Boston is on some kind of different calendar. Oh yea , by the way our burn index is at 742 today and rising 14 points a week given our current conditions-per TFS. Check to make sure your calendar is not six months out of wack!

[This message has been edited by ricky (edited August 17, 1999).]

You should move further north. It's this way for us every year. In fact, One of our busiest wildland months on record was a January a few years back.

Sure it's not a 'recognized' fire season by the TFS, but it's still just as busy as the recognized one.

Capt. Easly,

Having been employed by the Texas Forest Service as a Firefighter I can honestly say that if you request them they will respond. They are a state orginization providing a service and are for the most part obligated to do so if requested.. I myself can't even remember how many "Spot Fires" we were called out to plow a line around! Small or big they will respond! This time of year you might get a 4 hour ETA because the dozer is comming from three districs over, but they will come!
Now as for actual mobilization they mainly concentrate on the smaller rural depts. that have a large area to cover with limited equipment, and are expended from recent fires. Not to say you don't have a problem though! Two or three dozer crews from your area office should have responded and been able to contain your bigger fires with ease. On the same token obviously they can't send what they don't have, and right now they are short handed in their districs because of equipment being deployed all over the state. Yes "Texas is Burning" just as it does this time "Every Year". Also keep in mind that they do prioritize the areas they respond to. Unlike the Feds. they have a limited Fire Control budget to work with. You talk about air tankers (not chopper dumps).. each drop costs aprrox. $2,000 so for that kind of support you will need one heck of a fire and FEMA will need to kick in with the "Emergency Funds" to support the cost of such an operation! West Texas as an example.. I can remember a few years ago were we mobilized in West Texas (CAFS Team, Hand Tool Crews, Dozer Strike Teams, Air Tankers ect.) and the first day there made a car fire that ended up as a 60,000 acre ground cover fire. Well that was a attention getter for FEMA and the Feds. A few days after that we burned the entire Guadalupe Mountain Range which involved our crews,Fed Air Tankers, and Hot Shot Crews and BLM units from other states! Pleanty of fire for everyone needless to say.

Don't mean to ramble on.. just a specialty topic of mine! Hope this kinda gave you an idea how they work..don't feel left out by any means. If you are in fact burning up they do know about it!

And for the record.. Jimie 3 is correct about the fire season in Texas. we do in fact have two!

If you need further info or assistance with your fires contact the Fire Control Department at TFS here's the web site..http://txforestservice.tamu.edu/

[This message has been edited by T.D / 1122 (edited August 18, 1999).]

It seems that the Tx Forest Service is haveing a response problem as well, we have had three LARGE Grass & Woods fire in the area and it has taken over a hour or Longer to get one dozer, if it was not for mutual aid we could have easily lost residential homes and a chicken Farm, in the past if we called we recived alot more help, I dont know if they have relocated strike teams or if they too are haveing equipment shortages But we too are haveing more fires this time of year than this time last Year and several Counties have started Burn Bans, I think its going to get worse before it gets better.

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Here today for a Safer Tomorrow