****UPDATE 11:24 p.m.*****
The Texas A&M Forest Service has posted on Twitter that the Eastland Complex fire is now at 38,383 acres and 0% contained.
***ORIGINAL STORY BELOW***
Multiple wildfires broke out across the Big Country portion of Texas from Abilene to Eastland County. Strong winds and dry conditions had forecasters warning residents that Thursday and Friday would be critical fire weather days.
According to CBSDFW, the Texas A&M Forest Service took to social media to announce that “fires are burning actively in heavy brush”. The multiple smaller fires burning in Eastland County have now turned into the Eastland Complex fire and as of 9:00pm on Thursday, it was 0% contained.
By 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 17 the Eastland Complex fire had burned 14.800 acres and had forced the evacuation of hundreds of people as low humidity and strong winds continued to fuel the fire.
Unfortunately, wildfires combined in Ranger which resulted in several buildings burning down. One building that caught on fire according to CBSDFW was an old Police Station and a church. Second Baptist Church In Ranger posted on Facebook that their church had been the one destroyed by the wildfire.
In Abilene as of 9:30 p.m., fire crews were still working north and south of Highway 80 to make sure there would be no fair-ups due to embers blowing in the wind. Earlier in the day an area around Highway 80 and Arnold Boulevard was evacuated due to a wildfire. That evacuation has been lifted.
There have been no reports of injuries in the wildfires in Eastland or due to any of the other wildfires reported in the Big Country. On Friday, weather conditions again could rise to the point of being critical for fire danger. It’s important during these low humidity, high wind days to be careful not to cause anything to spark outdoors which includes throwing cigarettes out the window when driving. A small spark could lead to a major fire and a loss of property and life.
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