Wildfires force evacuations in central Texas as blaze torches nearly 40,000 acres

‘I’ve been fire chief here 40 years and when you have something like this... it hurts. It hurts the whole community,’ Ranger fire chief says

Wildfires in Texas covering more than 38,000 acres have prompted evacuation orders to be put in place across several counties in central parts of the Lone Star State.

Strong winds and dry conditions led to firefighters battling the blaze in dangerous weather late on Thursday.

Several wildfires have combined and now form the Eastland Complex fire. Parts of Eastland, Brown and Comanche counties have been put under orders to evacuate.

Texas A&M Forest Service spokesperson Kari Hines has said that no injuries have been reported so far, according to CNN.

Via the wildfire information system Inciweb, officials said about 475 homes in Gorman have been evacuated.

“Evacuations are being completed in multiple towns impacted, including Carbon, Lake Leon and Gorman,” the Inciweb update said. “Highway 6 through Carbon is closed.” The complex is made up of at least four fires with none of it being contained as of Thursday night, according to the forest service.

Wildfires rip through Eastland County, Texas (WFAA)

KTVT reported that a church and multiple buildings burned in the downtown area of the small town of Ranger on Thursday.

“I’ve been fire chief here 40 years and when you have something like this... it hurts. It hurts the whole community,” Ranger Fire Department Chief Darrell Fox told the outlet, gesturing to the burned buildings. “You know, this church had been here for 100 years. This right here was my first fire station when I first went to work for the City of Ranger. So you know, a lot of it is sentimental.”

As of Friday morning, firefighters had asked for air support, but the fire service said aviation crews were likely to be forced to stay on the ground at times due to the strong winds.

The service added that another fire in Runnels and Coleman counties had exited containment lines because of “high winds causing fire activity to pick up” after charring 7,000 acres. The fire was 50 per cent contained.

“Highway 153 has been closed to non-emergency personnel incoming traffic,” the Coleman Fire Department posted on Facebook on Thursday night. “Multiple homes have been lost and crews are attempting to hold the fire from jumping the roadways. Red Cross has been contacted to assist with shelter operations.”

Runnels County and Coleman County residents have been asked by officials at the Texas Department of Transportation to “avoid the area of Carbon to Gorman to Lake Leon to allow access for first responders so they can work to control/extinguish this wildfire that has closed” portions of Highway 6.

Later on Thursday, the fire department said in an update that those living north of the highway were expected to be able to go back home “in a couple [of] hours”.

An evacuation in Taylor County, including portions of Abilene, was halted late on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service of Abilene/San Angelo.

“Critical fire weather conditions will continue through mid to late evening, so continue to remain vigilant and monitor local media for the latest updates,” the service warned.

The forest service also responded to a request for help in Sterling County on Thursday, where a fire covering more than 3,800 acres was about 75 per cent contained.

On Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that the state was “elevating its response and increasing resources to address any potential wildfire activity”.

“Texans are encouraged to remain weather-aware and practice wildfire safety diligently through the rest of the week to keep their communities safe,” he added.