Officials in Texas have issued mandatory evacuation orders and urged people to leave their homes after a 1,200-acre wildfire broke out on Friday.
The major fire, which covered an area of 900 football fields on Friday evening, was dubbed the Game Preserve Fire and originally broke out in Walker County, Texas, on Friday afternoon in a wooded area along Lost Indian Camp Road.
The latest update issued by authorities said the fire had engulfed 1,200 hectares of land and was 10 percent contained.
Just hours earlier, the fire was estimated to have spread over 100 acres, then grew to 500 acres, then 1,000 acres – prompting officials to urge residents to evacuate.
Residents on Pinedale Road near the fire have been told to evacuate their homes, which appear to be mostly ranches.
It is currently unclear what caused the fire and whether anyone was injured
The major fire currently covers an area of 900 football fields and started on Friday afternoon
Crews will be monitoring the fire throughout the evening and additional crews are expected to be on scene tomorrow
Images and videos shared on social media show thick, dark clouds of smoke rising into the air as the fire burns.
Images taken from the air show how big the forest fire has become in such a short time.
Neighbors told Fox26 that homes were burned and livestock were evacuated from the area.
Local resident Andy Walker spoke to ABC13 while in the middle of the evacuation on Pinedale Road.
He said: “It’s scary.” “There’s amber and ash everywhere. If you stop your truck, you’ll have ash everywhere.”
Walker said he was preparing to move his cattle and that he wasn’t taking any chances.
On social media, the Walker County Office of Emergency Management said: “Our great community – please help me organize the chaos, questions about donations and assistance need to be directed to one place.”
“For your own safety, please don’t just show up without contacting me.” “This is a dangerous fire.”
The Texas Forest Service’s latest update states, “The Walker County fire is estimated to be 1,200 acres and is 10% contained.”
“Dozers continue to establish a containment line.” Firefighters will be patrolling the area this evening. Aviation and additional crews will be on site tomorrow to assist with the response.”
We’re on Pinedale Road, where almost everyone has been evacuated. Some people we spoke to said they would wait to see if the situation gets worse.
Andy Walker lives a few miles outside and is preparing to move cattle. He said he wouldn’t take any chances. #GamePreserveFire pic.twitter.com/kMqaPJdx0h
— Jiovanni Lieggi (@lieggiji) September 1, 2023
Images taken from the air show how big the forest fire has become in such a short time
A volunteer fire department shared photos of the forest fire showing emergency services fighting the fire
Images and videos shared on social media show thick, dark clouds of smoke rising into the air as the fire burns
An earlier update said the fire’s behavior was “high to extreme.”
In a statement shared on social media, the Walker County Office of Emergency Management said, “Major fire on Lost Indian Camp Road at FM247.”
“FM247 is closed in both lanes from Pinedale to FM2989.” Evacuation was recommended for everything within 3 miles of Lost Indian Camp Road. Airstrike drops water.
It is currently unclear what caused the fire and whether anyone was injured.
A local man shared his reaction in a TikTok after seeing the smoke rising into the sky for the first time.
In the video, the man says, “No s**t.” There’s a damn forest fire raging here in Huntsville.
“And we’re just sitting back here. “I was driving and I saw smoke everywhere.”
The man then pans his camera to show thick clouds of smoke floating in the air above him, some distance from the actual fire that can be seen smoldering in the distance.
Additional footage shared online by the Lovelady Volunteer Fire Department shows aerial crews dropping water on the inferno.
The TikTok user pans his camera to show how much smoke has filled the air in the area
Emergency services on site used bulldozers to try to create containment lines
Videos shared by the department also show several firefighters driving down a road toward the flames.
The camera pans around to show that the entire forest area surrounding the road is on fire.
The state is currently experiencing triple-digit temperatures, with more than 98 percent of the state in drought, according to a statement from Gov. Greg Abbott.
The Walker County government’s website said it had already issued a burn ban on July 31, restricting most outdoor ignitions.
The reported fire area is 83 miles outside of downtown Houston.
Images and videos shared on social media show thick, dark clouds of smoke rising into the air as the fire burns
Texas Governor Greg Abbott also announced that he had directed the Texas A&M Forest Service to open the Austin Airtanker base at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to help fight wildfires.
Governor Abbott said in a statement: “Texas has activated Austin Airtanker Base to further support our brave firefighters and emergency responders across the state and protect Texans from these wildfires.”
“Additional resources through this air tanker base will provide even greater support to state and local officials as they can respond quickly.”
“With triple-digit heat forecast for this Labor Day weekend, I urge Texans to pay attention to the weather and limit any activities that could cause sparks or flames that could lead to accidental fires.”
The base will serve as a reloading station for aircraft coming and going to the wildfires.
It follows a summer of wildfires in which dozens of people lost their lives on the Hawaiian island of Maui and on the country’s east coast, which was shrouded in thick smog from fires in Canada.
Fires recently raged across the idyllic island of Maui and have claimed at least 115 lives.
The Maui incident is the deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than a century.
So far, the names of 50 people have been released publicly and five others have been identified, but their identities have been kept secret because next of kin could not be reached. The rest have yet to be identified.
A handout photo provided by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources shows an aerial view of the aftermath of the Lahaina wildfire on Maui
New York skies turned orange last month due to the extent of the Canadian wildfires. Pictured: The Big Apple was shrouded in smog on June 7th this year
In June, more than 120 million Americans were placed under “very unhealthy” air quality warnings after smoke from fires in Canada made its way across the border.
There were once five cities in the United States that were ranked among the ten worst places on earth.