Three fires that ignited in central Texas on Sunday joined the four already burning thousands of acres of land and forcing hundreds of people out of their homes.
The Texas A&M Forest Service said the Eastland Complex fire in Eastland County was made up of seven blazes — the Kidd fire, the Blowing Basin fire, the Cedar Mountain fire, the Oak Mott fire, the Wheat Field fire, the Mangum fire and the Walling fire.
A helicopter makes a water drop on flames as the Eastland Complex fire burns near Rising Star, Eastland County, Texas, on March 18, 2022. @johnnyhaysmd via Twitter / Reuters
All together, the complex fire is burning more than 54,000 acres. It is 30 percent contained.
The largest blaze in the complex is the Kidd fire, which is burning 42,333 acres and is 40 percent contained.
“The Kidd fire still continues to be the main fire of concern. For operational plans today, crews will focus on completing containment lines around the Kidd fire,” the Texas A&M Forest Service said in a Sunday morning update.
The Kidd fire has destroyed 142 structures, according to the update.
Evacuation orders are now in place in parts of Hood, Erath and Eastland counties, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reported.
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At least one person has died in the fires. On Thursday, Sgt. Barbara Finley of the Eastland County Sheriff’s Office was evacuating residents in the town of Carbon when she drove to check on an elderly neighbor nearby, the office said. Her vehicle ran off the road and was engulfed in flames, killing her.
A firefighter works at the site Friday as the Eastland Complex fire burns near Rising Star, Eastland County, Texas. @JohnnyHaysMDers via Twitter / Reuters
And a church in the path of the complex was destroyed, but held service outside Sunday. “You may have lost all of your things, but you haven’t lost everything because you still got the people that love you,” Second Baptist Church song leader Wendy Rodgers told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.
A separate fire, called the Big L fire, is burning at least 11,000 acres in Erath and Hood counties, according to Texas A&M Forest Service. “The fire is still active but forward progression has been stopped,” the fire service said. The fire is 20 percent contained.
One firefighter was injured in the Big L fire, according to the Hood County Sheriff’s Office. The firefighter suffered superficial burns to the face and was in good condition.
An evacuation order for the city of Lipan, north of the Big L fire, was lifted Monday morning.