I happened to be looking out about half an hour ago to the east and the yard looked like it was orange. A cloud overhead looked sort of orange and I couldn't figure out why. Got a call a bit ago from a friend of mine who told me there is a wildfire off 67 near Stewarts. I asked more precisely whether that was before or after, going west, the road that goes to Fossil Rim, and she said it was after towards Stephenville. Incidentally, I greatly appreciate the concern of reaching out to make sure I knew about the fire.

One thing for sure. When I listen to the scanner, it is clear we have a great fire department. The department sets up a command center, and send people around to various locations when a fire is spotted or reported on. 

On the pic below, you can see not only the main fire which was around 51, but another one that started off to the left. Pictures taken south of Hwy 67 and the wind was blowing from the south to north so the fire was blowing north

From Texas A&M Forestry Service on Twitter

You could not even see the sun through the smoke in the sky. Like an oven outside, but, surprisingly, seems that not having the sun beating down on the yard and having a *cover* helped the plants

Listening to the scanner

They are around FM 205 and 1009

5:52 pm North side of 51, lost 2 structures, evacuating people

Brush truck on CR 1008 6:55 pm 

51 and CR 1005 - 7:44 pm

Aerial planes dropping water every 20 minutes, fire at 4500 block of CR 1008  7:47 pm

Tuesday, July 18 - Seems there are still fire around 205. 1004 hay bales on fire  (8:47 am) 

Texas A&M Forest Service shows this as called Chalk Mountain and 10% contained as of 11:59 am

Update from around 8:00 am 

Wednesday July 20 10:26 am

from where I can see it looks a whole lot better. Still appears to have hotspots on 205. A bit ago SomcoFire said on the scanner that air drops about to be made (presumably Forest Service). Also getting in some more dozers. Hico FD helping near Cottonwood Baptist Church (51)

Thursday July 21 2022

Quote

 

Current Situation July 21, 2022 at 7:00 a.m.  

Yesterday, Texas A&M Forest Service firefighters responded to 10 new wildfires that burned 408 acres. Suppression efforts continued on several carryover wildfires as well.

 

The fire environment, characterized by critically to extremely dry vegetation and critical fire weather, will support wildfire activity this week.  

 

 

There are currently 215 counties with burn bans.

 

Active Wildfires:  

• Sandlin Hill Fire, Parker County - 172 acres, 80% contained
• River Bottom 2 Fire, Hood County - 150 acres, 40% contained
• Chalk Mountain Fire, Somervell County - est. 6,339 acres, 10% contained
• East County Fire, Kaufman County - 403 acres, 90% contained
• Weeber Fire, Milam County - 20 acres, 70% contained
• West Bend Fire, Wichita County - 6,522 acres, 98% contained
• 1148 Fire, Palo Pinto County - 500 acres, 25% contained
• Nelson Creek Fire, Walker County - 1,887 acres, 90% contained
• Stanifer Branch Fire, Bosque County - 160 acres, 90% contained
• Honey Creek Fire, Uvalde County - 273 acres, 60% contained

 

Contained Wildfires (100%): 

• Cameron Grove Fire, Travis County - 67.3 acres
• Madison 4110 Fire, Madison County - 90 acres
• Nacogdoches 4110 Fire, Nacogdoches County - 20 acres
• Sabine 4114 Fire, Sabine County - 1 acre
• Trinity 4105 Fire, Trinity County - 2.2 acres
• Trinity 4113 Fire, Trinity County - 0.1 acre
• Bowie 4100 Fire, Bowie County - 1 acre
• Morris 4117 Fire, Morris County - 5 acres
• Church Road Fire, Wichita County - 50 acres
• Spinning Buffalo Fire, Castro County - 180 acres
• Diamond Gate Fire, Coke County - 50 acres
• Walnut Creek Fire, Bastrop County - 36.2 acres
• Gregg 4074 Fire, Gregg County - 3.4 acres
• King Creek Fire, Kaufman County - 458 acres
• Nethery Road Fire, Kimble County - 3,262 acres
• Salado Brook Fire, Williamson County - 46.8 acres

 

• Update for July 27 2022

• 07/27/2022 Chalk Mountain Fire Morning Update

  Chalk Mountain Fire Wildfire
  News – 55 min. ago

  Chalk Mountain Fire Update

  July 27, 2022 10:00 a.m.

  Chalk Mountain Fire Stats:

  Size: 6,746 Acres

  Containment: 40%

  Location: 4.6 miles SW of Glen Rose, TX

  Start Date: July 18, 2022

  Cause: Under Investigation

  Resources Assigned

  • Total personnel: 309 Engines: 22 Dozers: 10 Handcrews: 5

  The Southern Area Blue, Type-I Incident Management Team assumed command of the Chalk Mountain Fire at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 20, 2022.

  Current Status:

  Firefighters continued making progress on the Chalk Mountain Fire yesterday as the total containment increased to 40 percent yesterday while the acreage remained the same. The primary area of emphasis is the northern perimeter near the intersection of FM 205 and the northwestern edge of the fire. Visible smoke was observed in this area throughout the day as hotspots interspersed with unburned fuel are causing flareups. Aerial resources spent the day cooling this area, allowing ground crews the chance to work these hotspots. The fire continues to smolder and creep through this area.

  Throughout the remainder of the fire, crews spent the day gridding for and extinguishing hotspots on the interior of the fire and focused much of this gridding in and around homes. The eastern and western edges of the fire are being monitored for remaining hotspots, and fire officials are pleased with the progress in these areas.

  Fire conditions across the region remain at a critical level. Soil moisture remains completely depleted to a depth of at least eight inches. This means the moisture normally present in the ground is not available to slow the spread of fires. This lack of moisture is facilitating the smoldering and the burning of roots across the Chalk Mountain Fire.

  Fire Weather:

  Hot and dry conditions will persist throughout the week. An upperlevel ridge remains in place across much of Texas that is holding this heat in place. Temperatures will climb to as high as 104 degrees today with south winds expected at 8-12 mph gusting to 20 mph. Relative humidity will drop to nearly 20 percent. The current rain free streak at DFW is at 54 days (5th driest ever) with no rain expected.

        

  Evacuations and Closures:

  There are no current evacuations or closures impacting the Chalk Mountain Fire.

  Contact the Somervell County Sheriff’s Office for the most current information on evacuations and closures:

  Phone: 254-897-2242

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Somervellsheriff 

   

  Safety and Notifications:

  Personal responsibility and prevention of the next ignition is of utmost importance in preventing the next wildfire. Refrain from parking vehicles on dry grass and make sure all power equipment is in good working condition. Do your part to help our firefighters.

  Wildfires are a NO DRONE ZONE. If you fly, we can’t. Flying a drone near a wildfire can shut down all air operations.

  Fire Information:

  Fire Information Line:

  817-381-5914

  Email:

  2022.chalkmountain@firenet.gov

  Facebook:

  https://www.facebook.com/lssimt 

  Inciweb:

  https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8255/