- Recent Summary of Fire Damages
- (since Dec 26 2005-May 30 2006)
State Totals: 11,498 Fires | 7 Firefighters injured | 5,024,879 Acres | 440 Homes Lost | 5,779 Homes Saved - (since Jan 09 2008-Mar 02 2008)
State Totals: 13 Firefighters injured | 514,769 Acres | 51 Homes Lost | 2,141 Homes Saved
as posted on (Source:GDEM)
The State Fire Marshall's Office has initiated a 24-hour Hotline to report suspected arson fires and County Burn Ban violations. The number is 1-877-434-7345.
- Volunteer Fire Departments are encouraged to contact the Texas Forest Service at
979 458-7307 for assistance in reporting fire statistics. - Volunteer Fire Departments can contact the Texas Forest Service for financial assistance. Apply here: The Texas Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program
- Big Country Firefighters Association is a primary resource and networking site for VFD's.
Important information for: Volunteer Fire Departments
Community Leaders:
You can contact The Department of State Health Services (DSHS) for information on providing disaster mental health services.
If the RSS news feeds below aren't functioning, you can go directly to updated compiled news stories at these links:
- In past political news:
- "The President issued a Major Disaster Declaration, for the State of Texas, at the request of the Governor. This will provide relief to citizens and communities due to the existing and continued extreme fire hazards. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is providing online registration at http://www.fema.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362)." (Source:GDEM)
- Governor Rick Perry Declares Statewide Drought Disaster in all 254 Texas counties and requested that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency provide disaster relief assistance for Texas farms and ranches.
- Governor Rick Perry visited Ringgold and has secured funding for fire victims, and is working to prosecute arsonists.
- Congressman Randy Neugebauer visited Cross Plains and helped to secure funding for fire victims.
- Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison helped to secure federal disaster status for Texas.
- Senator John Cornyn also helped to secure federal disaster status for Texas.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Mission Statement:
The primary purpose of this blog is to provide a clearinghouse of resources, information and news updates about the wildfire crises in Texas, specifically the Big Country area.
Postings by the admin of this site are rare. The updates happen through news rss feeds and through the Texas Governor's Division Emergency Management Situation Reports.
If you have any comments, they will be emailed to the admin when you comment at the bottom of this post.
Postings by the admin of this site are rare. The updates happen through news rss feeds and through the Texas Governor's Division Emergency Management Situation Reports.
If you have any comments, they will be emailed to the admin when you comment at the bottom of this post.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Firefighter News
Volunteer Firefighter James McMorries has died today, April 11, 2006, of his injuries sustained while fighting the Panhandle fires in March. Funeral services are set for 10 a.m. Wednesday at Paramount Terrace Christian Church in Amarillo. You can see a story here: Texas Firefighter Succumbs To Injuries
Of course our prayers and love go to the families of James McMorries and all volunteer firefighters.
Of course our prayers and love go to the families of James McMorries and all volunteer firefighters.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Site News
The Texas Governor's Division Emergency Management Situation Reports will now only be updating weekly, on Wednesdays, beginning April 5. The report on April 1st is the last daily report. (This is not an April Fool's joke.)
Please continue to check burn ban maps, fire maps, and news stories to stay up to date. There are no other daily updated reports that I could find other than the GDEM reports.
Most areas are under burn bans again, so if you see smoke, check the burn ban map for your county, and if a burn ban is in effect, please call 911 immediately.
Please continue to check burn ban maps, fire maps, and news stories to stay up to date. There are no other daily updated reports that I could find other than the GDEM reports.
Most areas are under burn bans again, so if you see smoke, check the burn ban map for your county, and if a burn ban is in effect, please call 911 immediately.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Panhandle Fires
Alot of people died last night. The latest count of victims is up to nine as far as I can tell. Our prayers go out to them and their families. You can read a full report on the current situation here: GDEM Panhandle Report. Good luck out there firefighters, you have our love and support.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Site News
I disabled the Yahoo! RSS feeds. It seems the error lies with the Yahoo! site, and I have no way to repair this. I will reinstall them if I can ever get them to work. For news at Yahoo! you can get the same pages there that were available as a feed here at the links above the current feeds. These are those links:
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Site News
The Yahoo! RSS feeds are malfunctioning. I am working to fix this. The Yahoo! feeds have been the buggiest feeds since I began displaying them, and I am considering removing them. You can still go to Yahoo! for the news by using the links at top of the feeds.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Personal News
http://www.flickr.com/photos/57347506@N00/sets/72057594063374620/
The link above goes to a set of photos I took on Feb 12 2006, of the fires in Eastland County. They are at this time still going, up to 5 fires, and people are being evacuated south of I-20.
The link above goes to a set of photos I took on Feb 12 2006, of the fires in Eastland County. They are at this time still going, up to 5 fires, and people are being evacuated south of I-20.
