Strong winds and low humidity adds up to extreme fire danger. These are anxious times for area first responders especially in rural areas.
Extreme fire danger days like Tuesday, March 4th, have firefighters in Jim Wells County in preparation mode.
They are ready to combat any possible fires that could turn into a massive inferno in these conditions.
Fires like the one on the Jim Wells Duval County line. The massive grass fire started on County Road 151 and quickly spread.
This fire is in what Alice Fire Chief Patrick Thomas calls a wild land-urban interface area.
"We have brushy areas, ranch areas that people go out and build houses around,” Thomas said.
The area around County Road 151 is exactly that. Thomas said fires in these neighborhoods are common on these types of days.
"Pretty common, at least a few times a year we'll get days like this where the weather makes a really dry air and the humidity levels drop really really low. When that happens you have high winds and really low humidity - it causes fires to spread really fast,” he said.
And spread it does.
Thomas said fire needs three things to burn - oxygen, fuel, and an ignition source.
"With the fuel that's on the ground right now -when I say fuel I mean all that dry vegetation - the grass, the brush that's grown up. And you introduce fire to that and we're off to the races with the fires trying to put them out,” he said.
That’s exactly what firefighters from Alice, Texas A&M Forest Services, San Diego and other area fire departments were doing across the Coastal Bend.
James DeGrazia is the Texas A&M Forest Service Region 5 and 6 Chief.
"For today, because of the fact that, the fire has the potential to grow to such a large size and move quite quickly - this is the reason why we're staffed up,” he said.
He said preparation is key especially when winds are between 25 and 49 miles per hour.
One of the main tools the department needs to fight fires is water. But with a drought, how do firefighters combat a fire with less access to water?
"So, not every fire is extinguished with water. There are times that we may use foam to help extend the life of the water. Sometimes we don't use any water at all to put a fire out. Sometimes we use fire to fight fire. There's different tactics that we can have that we can use,” Thomas said.
DeGrazia said they also have aviation assistance that can spray fire retardants override fires.
However, even with firefighters as prepared as possible, they say the simple thing to do, is not to start a fire of any kind, but also be prepared should one start.
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