Four Firefighters Hurt in Massive TX Wildland Fire
Source Firehouse.com News
A massive wildland fire near Amarillo has injured four firefighters, two of them critically.
According to a report published by television station KXAN NBC, the firefighters were working what has been dubbed the Dumas Complex Wildfire, northeast of Amarillo when the injuries occurred.
The Amarillo Globe News reported the initial grass fire broke out Monday and by mid-afternoon had burned widely fueled by high winds and low relative humidity. Residents in the fire advancing path were ordered to evacuate.
By 9 p.m. Monday, more than 23,000 acres had burned and 150 homes were threatened, the newspaper reported. Texas A&M Forest Service reported it was less than 20 percent contained. The forest service dispatched several planes to drop water and fire-retardant materials on the affected areas.
An Amarillo Fire Department told the newspaper that early reports from the scene indicated that as many as four firefighters had been hurt but he had no additional information other than they were not Amarillo Fire Department members.
A red flag warning had been issued for much of the Texas panhandle on Monday and residents were urged to use extreme caution with fire and doing anything that could spark a wildland fire.
Scant information about the injured firefighters was available, but the KXAN Twitter account said Potter County Sheriff Brian Thomas reported one firefighter had suffered burns and another as at least one fracture.
