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Fire burns thousands of acres in Central Texas: Texas A&M Forest Service

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Posted at 4:13 PM, Jun 26, 2022
and last updated 2022-06-27 15:55:18-04

PALO PINTO, Texas — A fire has broken out in Palo Pinto County, the Texas A&M Forest Service reports.

The fire first broke out on Thursday and was first reported to have burned around 300 acres and wasn't contained at all. At the time of writing, the fire has now burned almost 11,600 acres of land and is 18% contained.

TAMFS has renamed the fire from Palo Pinto County 3410 to Dempsey Fire.

The first initially had 22% of it contained at 3000 acres before it continued to spread.

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Dempsey Fire information

While working overnight, TAMFS stated life safety, structure protection, and containment lines are its focuses.

Evacuations have since begun and are currently ongoing. The Palo Pinto County Sheriff's Office said Friday that due to the fire's movement, those north of Hwy 180, south of Hwy 254, east of Hwy 4, and west of Hwy 337 are urged to relocate. Those in the town of Graford are asked additionally to consider possible evacuation plans.

A temporary flight restriction is in place due to the fire, and authorities warn to stay away from the area so firefighting aircraft can safely enter.

Authorities of Palo Pinto County cautioned those who do not live in the area to stay away to avoid it due to the high volume of emergency traffic.

Wind shift is a concern for crews as the fire remained to be less than 20% contained, according to TAMFS. It has additionally crossed the Brazos River.

TAMFS say the fire remains to be very active on Sunday and state crews ad aviation still continue to establish and reinforce the areas of concern.

It has spanned multiple counties and multiple departments and agencies are assisting. TAMFS has not disclosed a cause for the fire.

TAMFS' Incident Viewer can be accessed here.

This story is developing and will be updated with more information.