FORT HOOD, Texas - Range fires that started Aug. 19 and 20 burned more than 7,600 acres of training area before they were fully contained on the morning of Aug. 23.
A fire that started Aug. 19, following a unit's routine destruction of munitions burned 1,500 acres at Pilot Knob, Fort Hood Fire Chief Billy Rhoads said. The second fire consumed 6,180 acres at Robinette Point/Clabber Creek ranges. That fire began Aug. 20, following an aviation unit's hellfire missile live-fire range, according to Fort Hood fire officials.
Extreme drought conditions in the area helped fuel the fire.
"This fire was caused by the drought and the ammunition," Assistant Fire Chief Ralph Hinkson, Fort Hood Fire Department, said. "The drought conditions have everything dry."
Dry vegetation coupled with extreme temperatures hovering in the 100-degree marks and no rainfall, have most of Texas covered in red on the drought maps.
"These have been the driest nine or 10 months in Texas history," Hinkson said. "All the (natural) fuel is extremely dry."
Drought conditions are evidenced especially by the brown cedar trees and yellow cactus, vegetation that normally holds some amount of moisture, Hinkson said. As temperatures increase during the day, any moisture the vegetation absorbs in the cooler nights and early mornings has dissipated in the hottest part of the day.
Fire danger is especially high from 4-7 p.m., the time considered the hottest during the day and when moisture and humidity levels drop to their lowest points, Rhoads said.
"Once the humidity drops below 20 percent, we're in trouble," Fort Hood Firefighter Chris Mayo said.
During the fire-fighting efforts on the ranges, officials closely monitored weather conditions, including relative humidity, temperature and wind speed and direction.
Combined dry conditions, steady winds and high temperatures have created a perfect storm for fire conditions and broken state records for acres burned across Texas, according to information from the Texas Forest Service.
"This one is unlike any I have ever seen because of the drought," Rhoads, who has been fighting fires at Fort Hood for 24 years, said.
Fort Hood and the surrounding area has hovered in the extreme and exceptional drought categories all summer, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Because of the extreme fire danger, Fort Hood is staffing four additional wild land firefighters working 12-hour shifts each day, Rhoads said.
During normal operations, the fire department has six wild land crews available. Currently, the department has up to 10 crews on-duty during the hottest part of the day.
Low fuel moisture, temperatures consistently exceeding 100 degrees and no measurable precipitation has wreaked havoc for firefighters, especially in the case of wild land or range fires, where they often are hindered by thick vegetation and inaccessible land. At Fort Hood, there have been more fires than usual, but, until last weekend, there had not been any large fires.
Rhoads said that is because the fire department has been able to throw substantial resources more quickly at the beginning of a fire.
This was especially helpful during the 20-acre fire on Aug. 20, near Montague and Clear Creek. No structures were lost in that fire, but electricity to many Fort Hood housing villages was interrupted due to the blaze.
On the training areas, fire officials work proactively with the Directorate of Public Works and Range Control during the wetter months of the year to prevent massive fires. Prescribed burns are conducted on Fort Hood from October through April to help eliminate brush and fuel during fire season.
"We try to burn out as much vegetation as possible in hazard areas and around the impact area," Rhoads said.
Most of the fires on Fort Hood, like those that started Aug. 20, are started on the ranges during training exercises. Others have been the result of arcing power lines.
Fire season in this area runs from June to October, but the National Weather Service has predicted drought conditions in the area to continue through November.
Electronic signs at East and West Range roads caution drivers to immediately report any signs of fire."Don't even pull off the road in a vehicle right now," Rhoads said. "Anything can trigger a fire."
Fortunately, the fire danger message has gotten through. "The public is so scared right now, so they are calling at the first sign of a potential fire," Rhoads said.
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