EVANT, Texas (KXXV) — The Rio Escondido Wildfire has decreased in size as of Wednesday afternoon, but surrounding flare-ups have kept fire crews in the area working to contain the last of the blazes.
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The Yellow Square Fire on Highway 84 (80% contained as of Wednesday afternoon) and the Adamsville Fire (50% contained as of Wednesday afternoon) have continued to demand attention from crews, though all fires have made substantial progress toward being fully contained.
Evant Fire Chief Chuck Weeks said he remains calm and optimistic about the situation.
"I think we got em' in pretty good shape. We've still got a few hotspots that we're working on out at the big fire out at Rio Escondido. We still got some hotspots on the 84 fire. But we're getting there."
Weeks also praised the volunteers who have responded throughout the past few days.
"They're my heroes, couldn't have done it without them. All of my volunteers, nobody gets a cent for doing this. They just wanna take care of their little town, little community."
Local residents have also stepped up to help. Volunteer Monica Hickey described what motivated her to get involved.
"I had things to do today, but you know what, you put that aside. You put everything on hold to help out. These firemen are hot, it was 105 degrees yesterday. They're hot, they're tired, they're exhausted, and a lot of them stay out there for hours."
Fire crews continue to monitor the area as additional flare-ups remain possible.
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