Texas is burning...AGAIN

[CarlS]

It is not looking good.

 

[dazco]

We had the same lind of fire in '0 called the "station fire". it burned 336,000 acres and lasted i think 4 or 5 months or something like that. This was about 4 miles from where i live and destryed most of the angeles forest, my main twisties ride since i was a kid. first time i rode thru it after they opened it up it was like riding thru a moonscape where previously there was a lush forest. It will never come back in my lifetime. many homes were lost and my entire area was smoky for a long long time. breathing was tough. I pity those texans....this is horrible. they will likely lose a lot more homes due to the fact most of the station fire was in the forest.
heres a shot of the station fire.

 

[DaveM]

This is very scary indeed

 

[hemibee]

The winds picked up over night and the Magnolia Fire has grown here in Montgomery County. The smoke here at the house was blocking out the mid-morning sun. The day started off on the bright side but that changed quickly. The smell was like standing in the middle of a pile of burning pine straw. Yesterday the Montgomery County portion of the fire was said to be 85% contained but now the report is about 50% contained in the three counties involved in the Magnolia fire. Several areas were allowed to return to their homes yesterday afternoon to only be ordered to leave again last night due to the wind shift and the new fires the wind caused to ignite.

More land clearing equipment continues to arrive and being placed in service.

The fire has now grown to 22,000 acres and is now expected to burn another two weeks.

The rain forecast doesn't look too good. They are now saying we may not be getting the much needed rain until mid or late spring 2012 due to the forming El Niño which is taking over the La Nina that has been causing our current weather patterns.


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[CarlS]

That is not an optimistic forecast.

 

[hemibee]

We had a house, grass and woods fire about a half mile from our house this afternoon. Fire Department was on scene quick and called a second alarm. The DC-10 Air Tanker was in the area and dispatched to the scene, made three drops on the fire.

Texas Forest Service dozers on site along with the local FD and trucks from three other departments. The house was lost, appears fire may have started in the house and then spread to the woods and pasture. It's unknown how long the fire may have burned inside the house before it was noticed. As quick as the FD responded after the call, the interior of the house was probably pretty well gone before the call. It is reported the first truck was on scene 4 minutes after the call was made.

Thank God for the quick response.


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[CarlS]

I am sure glad they got the fire contained before it spread. I am glad that you escaped damage. I sorry for those that lost their house.

 

[hemibee]

The Magnolia Fire is once again listed at 85% contained.

From the Conroe Courier...

California firefighters bring more than cooperative spirit
By Howard Roden | Posted: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 10:49 pm
Containment of the Tri-County Wildfire reached 85 percent Monday. Encouraging as that may seem, the future around Montgomery County remains uncertain.
Here’s a few of the reasons likely to extend Southeast Texas’ historic heat spell and drought:
45: That’s the number of days from the time when a wildfire is deemed extinguished that it could re-kindle into a full-blown fire, Craig Carter, told the audience at Commissioners Court Monday.]]>
Carter is the meteorological expert with the California Incident Management Team 4. Based in the San Bernandino National Forest, CIMT 4 is in Conroe to keep an eye on wildfires across the area, that include declared disasters in Bastrop, Montgomery, Waller, Grimes , Huntsville and other hot spots.
With the Keetch-Byram
Index at a region-wide 795, the drought has almost reached the scale’s maximum of 800. That prompted Carter to forecast the potential for a major fire in the Montgomery area every day through the rest of 2011. The door also remains open for such a scenario heading into 2012 as well.
“What’s the good news?,” County Judge Alan B. Sadler quipped.
That answer could be in the form of CIMT 4. A group of 62 men and women, CIMT 4 is one of 16 similar teams operating in the Golden State and other parts of the United States.
The team is expected to stay in the Conroe area for 4 to 6 weeks.
“We’re not here to take over,” said Rocky Oplinger, CIMT incident commander. “We’re here to work together.”
The California firefighters brought more than a cooperative spirit to Texas. Their total aircraft resources include a DC-10 jet, two Black Hawk helicopters, one Type-1 helitanker and one air attack fixed-wing scout-type plane. Seen flying around Montgomery County, the DC-10 can deliver 11,000 gallons of fire-retardant chemicals at a speed of 140 mph.
“We’re impressed with the approach the incident management team has brought to our area,” Sadler said.
Sadler and the other commissioners-Precinct 1 Mike Meador, Precinct 2 Craig Doyal and Precinct 4 Ed Rinehart-agreed to extend Sadler’s seven-day disaster declaration into 30 days Monday morning.

The Bastrop Fire is also being reported as 85% contained.

A new fire broke out yesterday afternoon on the western edge of Houston in the Katy area. That fire was listed last night as being almost 100% contained. This area is usually pretty wet, its low land that is flooded by the bayou many times a year but this year there hasn't been much water to cause flooding.

George Bush Park fire moves West toward I-10 in Houston
Staff Report | Posted: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 7:30 pm
Additional crews and gear are en route to another Texas fire sweeping through George Bush Park in west Houston Tuesday night.
The flames are fueled by dry woods and pushed by gusty winds.
The Houston Fire Department received the call at about 3:15 in the afternoon, and responded to the 16700 block of Westheimer Parkway and said it appeared to start near FM 1093. They believe it was unrelated to another fire in the park that was handled on Monday.
Since the the original report Tuesday, the fire has swept from grass to heavy brush and woods, moving north-northeast toward I-10 and Highway 6. While there are no structures currently in its path, authorities are asking residents to the north to monitor the media and stay vigilant.
Just after 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Harris County Office of Emergency Management tweeted: "Persons who live north/northwest of George Bush Park should pay close attention to the fire."
Authorities also said there are concerns about the smoke affecting traffic on I-10 as the fire moves closer to the highway.
Twenty-two pieces of equipment and 60 firefighters answered the initial call, including several grass and brush trucks and bulldozers from Houston and mutual aid departments, including Community Volunteer, Cy-Fair and West I-10.
Houston officials said they were conducting aerial observations with a Houston Police Department chopper to help get a better handle on the blaze. They said the fire line was operating ahead of the fire, trying to attack it as it moves toward them.
The Texas Forest Service tweeted around 6:30 p.m. that it was dispatching resources to assist the crews.
Based on reports from ABC-13, the Houston Fire Department and Harris County Office of Emergency Management.

Video link [video]http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video?id=8354100[/video]

 

[CarlS]

I am glad to see these fires are getting contained.

 

[DaveM]

Looks like they starting to get it all sorted out and that is great

 

[hemibee]

Photos - 9/6/2011

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/09/more-texas-wildfires/100141/

 

[hemibee]

From the Magnolia Fire, also called the Tri-County Fire.

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[CarlS]

Firefighting and control burning are hot, dirty, tiring work.

 

[DaveM]

Fire is just so scary and I always think about the poor animals that cannot escape it :y8:

 

[hemibee]

The Tri-County (Magnolia) Fire is 100% contained as of this morning. The expect to have it extinguished in two to three weeks.

We are getting a little rain this afternoon to the east and south of the Tri-County Fire, hopefully the rains move north and west to help the fire crews. One area of relief they are getting is in the temperatures. The night time lows have been dropping to the mid 60's in the area of the fire and today the high has been in the mid 80's.

 

[CarlS]

That is good news.

 

[hemibee]

Well the good news has turned bad, the rains didn't develop in the area but the high winds and lightening did. Several new fires within the containment have ignited along with a few re-ignited and a few that have grown with the wind.


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[CarlS]

That is not good. That sounds like Florida in 1998.

 

[hemibee]

Could this be real? Are we really fixin' to get hammered? I've had the radar up all night which is usual for me at work so I can warn my plants of approaching bad weather and this keeps getting closer. Is it for real? God, I pray it is real. I'm located between Conroe and Spring, just ahead of this line. The Tri-County Fire is just to the west of my location.

 

[hemibee]

Ok, it might be real. My office which I'm at right now on the night shift is located where the hand is, The Woodlands, Texas. The Tri-County (Magnolia) Fire is located at the top left corner of the weather condition box. My house is getting pounded right now, located just north of Conroe in Panorama Village.