Friday, April 26, 2024
Tolar rekindle
A fire south of Tolar that was believed to have been extinguished late last week flared up on Tuesday, July 19 because of a hot spot that rekindled — briefly prompting a mandatory evacuation notice for residents in the area surrounding Rock Church Highway.
After a Red Alert was issued by Hood County officials at about 6:30 p.m. for the Tolar rekindle area, which was given “River Bottom Fire” as its official name, Hood County Fire Marshal Jeff Young said that the evacuation order was issued as a precaution, but was canceled by about 9 p.m.
Young told the Hood County News that last week’s fire in that area had burned about 100 acres. A previously unseen hot spot flared up Tuesday, resulting in another 40 to 45 acres being scorched in that area, and also in the vicinity of Coleman Ranch Road and Nix Road.
“We’re still working on it today,” Young said Wednesday morning.
Young said that there were several hot spots, adding that “yesterday the humidity dropped” — which increased the fire danger amid blazing heat — with a record temperature of 109 degrees set Tuesday in Granbury — plus the drought conditions throughout the area.
His conservative estimate was that the “wind-driven” rekindle area was about 80 percent contained by Wednesday. It was surrounded at that point by firefighting crews — some of whom had to be borrowed from Somervell County’s ongoing major wildfire, which is dubbed the Chalk Mountain Fire.
The Texas Forest Service provided firefighting air support to assist in battling the Tolar rekindle.
The volunteer firefighters of Hood County — like many across the state — have been through the wringer recently.
“They’re wore out,” Young said. “They’ve been working pretty hard the last two weeks, but they keep showing up.”
HOOD DISASTER DECLARATION
Wednesday afternoon, a declaration of a “state of disaster” was signed by Hood County Judge Ron Massingill “due to” the wildfires including the Chalk Mountain Fire and the River Bottom Fire. The declaration “activates the Hood County, Texas, emergency management plan, and authorizes the furnishing of aid and assistance under the declaration.” It adds that the emergency is for the affected areas of Hood County ending when the disaster conditions no longer exist.
