FORT SMITH, Ark. --
Fort Smith Fire Chief Richardson said early Thursday morning crews realized they would not be able to stop the fire engulfing the old Fort Chaffee hospital complex and they knew the fire would move westward.
Richardson said they are doing what they call a "burn back." This means they started a fire on the edge of property they want to protect. They will let this fire burn and then put it out. They hope once the original fire meets the burned land it will have nowhere else to go.
Early Thursday morning, the blaze was growing, Richardson said. No official road closures have been reported.
Firefighters said they were worried the fire may jump to an area with valuable Army equipment and vehicles. People are monitoring the fire from on top if those vehicles, and said if it gets too close, they will have to quickly move all of that government property out of the way.
Police say there are simply not enough people to fight this big of a fire.
Winds are picking up, crews are exhausted and the temperature is quickly climbing, officials said.
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