A wildfire broke out and became uncontrollable in Palo Pinto County south of Possum Kingdom Lake last week, but officials say it is now mostly under control.
“The #LazyFire in Palo Pinto County is an estimated 1,800 acres and 80% contained,” Texas A&M Forest Service tweeted on Sunday. “Firefighters identified and mitigated several areas holding heat today.”
“Our crews are on scene, and they’ll be patrolling and mopping up across the area,” the forest service told The Dallas Express. “They’ll be looking for any hotspots or areas that are potentially burning close to those containment lines” and secure them “throughout the day.”
The fire began Thursday afternoon as a controlled agriculture burn that got out of hand, according to fire officials. Texas A&M Forest Service responded to a subsequent request for assistance.
The initial alert from the forest service estimated the fire to cover about 150 acres, but it quickly grew to about 1,800, according to later updates.
Palo Pinto County is currently under a burn ban, but an exception was made for this prescribed fire on SET Ranch, according to Palo Pinto County’s emergency management coordinator, Mistie Garland.
On Thursday evening, officials shut down Highway 16 from U.S. Highway 180 and W. Hells Gate Drive. While no mandatory evacuations were ordered, voluntary evacuations did occur.
The Rancher Navy group evacuated over 100 horses from the neighboring Rockin’ S Ranch, according to Morgan Broome, a member of the organization.
During the evacuation, one woman who works for the ranch was injured and airlifted to a Fort Worth hospital, Broome said. She did not suffer any burns and is expected to recover.
A Facebook commenter on the Possum Kingdom East Volunteer Fire Department post mentioned that the woman had been trampled, but this information was not corroborated.
No other injuries were reported, according to Garland.
The fire threatened at least six homes, but no damage had been reported.
Garland said assessing the extent of damages is challenging in a rural region.
“It’s just hard when it’s burning out just ranch land,” she said. “There’s not enough information outside of acreage.”
Personnel from Emergency State District No.1 and state forest crews responded to the fire, “which is all fire departments in our county,” Garland said, in addition to departments from Erath County.
“And Hood County is responding today with us,” she continued.
Crews on the scene said containing the fire was made difficult by the terrain and dense brush. The dark smoke from the fire was primarily due to juniper and heavy oak trees. Most of the fire was along a ridge, and bulldozers were finding it difficult to create containment lines.
Mop-up operations have begun as the county continues to deal with moderate to severe drought conditions. Palo Pinto County and Possum Kingdom Lake were two of the many areas hit by wildfires over the summer, along with record-breaking droughts.
Since Friday, Texas A&M Forest Service has responded to at least 47 wildfires burning 363 acres across the state.
Garland also said she hopes this will be the final wildfire of the season.
Hurricane Ian also played a small role in the fire, reportedly. The storm’s effects pushed a front into the area, bringing drier conditions and stronger winds.
With most of Texas now experiencing cooler temperatures, fire danger is listed as low to moderate across roughly 90% of the state.
