Officials are calling for a new state firefighting force in the wake of wildfires that scorched the Texas panhandle.
Texas officials and victims of the recent panhandle wildfires appeared before a five-member investigative committee in Pampa, Texas, on Tuesday to discuss the effects, state preparedness, and response to the wildfires, reported The Texas Tribune.
The committee included two members of the public — local land owners James Henderson and Jason Abraham — as well as state Reps. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock), Ken King (R-Canadian), and Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi), according to The Texas Tribune.
“This is not a Panhandle problem. This will have statewide effects,” said King, chair of the committee, according to The Texas Tribune. “We must do what we can to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
Local fire chiefs also attended the meeting and expressed a need for up-to-date equipment and to address gaps in communication between entities.
“We have to get all on the same system statewide, but we can’t afford to upgrade to digital. All we can do is hope and pray a grant comes along until then we are staying with the system we have,” said Trent Price, chief of the Hoover Volunteer Fire Department, per The Texas Tribune.
Local and state firefighters across Texas battled multiple wildfires in the panhandle in late February prompting multiple evacuations and a disaster declaration from Gov. Greg Abbott. The Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest of the fires, burned 1,058,482 acres before it was finally fully contained on March 16, having become the largest wildfire in Texas history, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, told the panel members that the state should establish a firefighting aircraft division in the wake of these fires. Kidd suggested that the state could establish its own firefighting airforce at a cost of $50 million for the endeavor. She said the state could use other options, such as private contracts, until the firefighting aircraft division could be fully established.
“It won’t be an easy venture to start with, and we will have to continue with contracts while this is built up and people are trained. It will take some time,” said Kidd, according to The Texas Tribune.
Emmet Webb, owner of Brazos River Helicopters, said that he had assisted firefighters with his own private helicopter and that the state of Wyoming already had one state-owned helicopter to help battle its own wildfires.
Abraham and other attendees expressed skepticism at the notion of the state being responsible for the firefighting aircraft division.
“I am asking if we are sure we want Texas to be in charge of this because we have seen these guys in action. They do not have a good reputation,” said Abraham, per The Texas Tribune.
The committee is expected to publish its full report by May 1.