CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — UPDATE (8:20 p.m. Saturday) According to the Texas A&M Forest Service's Texas wildfire tracker, as of 8:20 p.m., the Borrega Fire is 98 percent contained, and has burned 51,566 acres.
UPDATE (11:45 a.m. Saturday) According to the Texas A&M Forest Service's Texas wildfire tracker, as of 7:57 p.m., the Borrega Fire is 85 percent contained, and has burned 51,566 acres.
UPDATE (10:15 p.m. Friday): According to the Texas A&M Forest Service's Texas wildfire tracker, as of 7:57 p.m., the Borrega Fire is 85 percent contained, and has burned 51,566 acres.
UPDATE (1:20 p.m. Friday): The Borrega Fire remains 50 percent contained, and officials say Premont is largely safe from it.
Air crews and bulldozer lines have create a buffer between the fire and the city, reducing Premont's risk.
Winds also are expected to shift this afternoon, said meteorologist Juan Acuña, steering the fire more toward Falfurrias.
Air crews and bulldozer lines are now focusing their efforts to stop the fire from entering there.
UPDATE (10:10 p.m. Thursday): According to the Texas A&M Forest Service's Texas wildfire tracker, as of 9:48 p.m., the Borrega Fire is 50 percent contained.
UPDATE (8:05 p.m. Thursday): While residents remain vigilant, their concerns have been with the firefighters, working to keep Premont safe. All day long, residents piled cases of water and refreshments as well as snacks in the lobby of Premont City Hall.
One of those people was Kimberly Moreno. She said she felt obligated to help, despite her concern for how close the fire was to the town. For Moreno, she's had an evacuation plan in place long before Thursday. If need be, she says her bags are packed and she'll just head north.
"Actually I lived in California," she said. "So, I was used to these fires. I’m surprised that we don’t have ash all over our vehicles yet. So, I'm just waiting. When that happens, that's when I know it’s time to get out of here."
City Hall will remain open for anyone who would like to donate supplies to the firefighters.
UPDATE (3:14 p.m. Thursday): After sending a plane up to monitor the fire's progress, the Texas A&M Forest Service has determined the fire's size to be 46,000 acres. As of 2:15 p.m., the fire is still 20 percent contained.The forest service said in addition to local first responders, 42 state and federal personnel are assigned to the Borrega Fire, including three bulldozers, 16 fire engines and eight aircraft including an air attack platform and single engine air tankers.
UPDATE (12:39 p.m. Thursday): The Borrega Fire has now crossed the Kleberg county line and has made its way into Jim Wells county, where Premont is, and Brooks county, where Falfurrias is located.
Though the fire has moved, officials are still holding the fire's size at 60,000 acres burned.
The spread of any wildfire is dependent on three factors, KRIS 6 News meteorologist Bill Alexander said Thursday during KRIS 6 News at Noon. They are: wind, relative humidity, and the dryness of the fuels — in other words, the items in the area fueling the wildfire such as brush, trees and infrastructure (buildings and/or structures.)
ORIGINAL:
What is now know as the Borrega Fire continues to burn on the King Ranch, prompting Premont Volunteer Fire Department officials to advise nearby residents to be ready to leave.
The department posted an update Thursday morning from mayor Priscilla Vargas telling residents to prepare a 'Go' bag in case evacuation is needed. Voluntary evacuations for the towns of Ricardo and Riviera were issued Wednesday night, but the fire is expected to shift east, the post states.
What's in a 'Go' bag? A supply of medications, canned food, water, clothes and important documents are useful to have on you when you've been forced to evacuate.
Brooks County Judge Eric Ramos also warned residents to be ready in a Facebook post.
"At this point there is no need to panic but be prepared," he states.
At 9:09 a.m. he stated that the fire was still largely wild, meaning uncontrolled, and was about eight miles northwest of Falfurrias.
Kleberg County Judge Rudy Madrid said Thursday the fire has claimed about 60,000 acres in the area that borders US Hwys 281 and 77 and State Hwys. 285 and 141.
The fire had only claimed 2,500 acres by 7:20 p.m. Wednesday, according to a National Weather Service Corpus Christi Twitter post.
It grew quickly, claiming 15,000 acres by 10:30 p.m., and another five acres two hours later.
Madrid also said no homes had been destroyed by the fire.
Crews from Kingsville, King Ranch, NAS-Kingsville
Another much smaller fire, the Vib fire, also is burning in Brooks County. It is 85 percent contained, and according to the Texas A&M Forest Service's Wildfire Incident Response System website.
Multimedia journalist Eran Hami and digital content producer Alyssa Flores contributed to this story. For the latest local news updatesclick here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
