SAN JACINTO COUNTY, Texas — Officials are continuing to battle wildfires across the state as extremely dry air and gusty winds bring extreme fire danger.
As of Friday evening, there were eight active fires across the state, but most of them were over 90% contained.
The first round of fires sparked on Friday and Saturday, with the largest ones being in the Panhandle and one in Central Texas near Fredericksburg. Most of those fires were mostly contained with the help of slower winds Sunday, but the wildfire danger ramped up again this week as winds picked back up.
A new fire popped up on Wednesday afternoon north of Houston. The Pauline Road Fire prompted evacuations in San Jacinto County, but those evacuation orders were lifted by Thursday evening.
The Caney Creek Cowboy Church was accepting displaced livestock in the area.
As of Friday evening, the fire had burned 2,421 acres and is 65% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
Helicopters were deployed to dump water on some of the hotspots.
On Tuesday, two fires sparked in the Panhandle, one in Dallam County and one in Hutchinson County.
The High Lonesome Fire in Dallam County, located in the northwest tip of Texas, burned 23,335 acres and is 100% contained.
All of the state's resources have been released from the fire.
The Double S Fire in Hutchinson County, located northeast of Amarillo, is smaller but less contained. According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, it has burned 454 acres and is only 92% contained as of Friday morning.
All previous evacuations for the fire have been lifted.
The Crabapple Fire in Gillespie County, located near Fredericksburg, started on Saturday and has burned over 9,858 acres and is 98% contained. Both aircraft and ground crews were deployed to contain the fire and wrap the perimeter.
Another smaller fire in Gillespie County sparked on Monday afternoon, the Dunderstadt Fire, but it was quickly stopped. It burned 50 acres and is competely contained.
On Friday, the Windmill Fire in Roberts County, located in the northern part of the Texas Panhandle, sparked.
Firefighters were finally able to contain the fire by Thursday afternoon. It burned over 23,287 acres.
Another fire also sparked in the Panhandle on Friday. The Rest Area Fire is in Gray County, just east of Amarillo, and is estimated to have burned over 7,931 acres and was 100% contained by Sunday evening.
Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley declared a local state of disaster due to the severe weather, fires and public safety power shutoffs. The declaration stays in effect for seven days, unless it is extended by the Amarillo City Council.
"This declaration is an important step in ensuring Amarillo has the support and flexibility needed to respond to ongoing emergency conditions. Please continue to follow official updates and stay weather aware," a post on Facebook said.
Some smaller fires have sparked across the state throughout the week but have been mostly contained as high winds and dry weather created what the National Weather Service has called “near historic” conditions for wildfires.
More than half of Texas’ 245 counties had burn bans in place because of the dangerous fire conditions.
These most recent wildfires come just a little over a year after the largest wildfire in Texas history — the Smokehouse Creek Fire — sparked in the Panhandle and burned over 1 million acres starting Feb. 26, 2024. The cause of the fire was a decaying power pole, which snapped and burned the dry grass around it.
The Windmill Fire is in the same area as the Smokehouse Creek Fire.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had approved the state's request for grants for the Rest Area, Crabapple, Double S and Pauline Road fires.
"With the approval of these Fire Management Assistance grants, we will continue to support our brave firefighters as they battle these dangerous blazes," Abbott said in the release."The safety and well-being of Texans is our No. 1 priority, and we will work tirelessly to ensure impacted communities get the assistance they need. I thank our first responders and brave firefighters for their work to protect their fellow Texans.”
The FEMA grants will provide up to 75% reimbursement for costs associated with fighting the two fires.
For updated information on the wildfires across the state, head to the Texas A&M Forest Service Incident Viewer.