Fire officials prepare for severe season
Smoke from the Moore Peak fire rises above the horizon in July 2023. The blaze burned over 700 acres in eastern Llano County in a season of frequent fires. Emergency management officials are predicting another fire-filled summer in 2024. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
Emergency officials are looking past spring into the summer with another fire-ridden season on the hot, dry horizon.
“After seeing the climate update from the National Weather Service from spring moving into summer, it’s not pretty,” Burnet County Emergency Management Coordinator Derek Marchio told DailyTrib.com. “I don’t think anybody here is expecting a ‘nice’ fire season.”
Marchio was referring to a recent NWS report that shows the likely departure of an El Niño climate pattern by late spring and the arrival of La Niña by mid-summer. The expected shift means warmer, drier weather for Central Texas, and that change could fuel another vicious fire season.
The 700-acre Moore Peak fire in July 2023 signaled the beginning of a summer of blaze battling for firefighters and first responders. Firefighters from across the state and the country worked alongside local departments last year, and further collaboration is expected this season.
“The Southern Area Blue Incident Management Team is already putting their training to use as we speak, managing wildfires in the Texas Panhandle,” Southern Group of State Foresters Fire Director Jim Prevette said in a media release. “These interagency training initiatives have been, and continue to be, crucial to an effective response to escalating wildfire conditions in the South from record-setting temperatures and drought, alongside the buildup of ready-to-burn natural debris in our communities and natural areas.”
The Southern Group of State Foresters is a coalition of forestry officials from 13 southern states, including Texas, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. As Prevette mentioned, one of the SGSF teams is currently lending aid in the monstrous Smokehouse Creek fire, which has burned over 1 million acres in the Texas Panhandle and is the largest in state history.
The Highland Lakes region is expected to have near-normal precipitation this spring. Three days of storms and rain are in the forecast in Llano and Burnet counties from Thursday-Saturday, March 14-16.
However, this could cause more trouble in the summer fire season, according to Marchio.
“The problem with last year was near-normal rainfall in spring, which led to a lot of fuel for fire in the summer,” the Burnet County emergency official explained. “We’re expecting that again.”
Granite Shoals Fire Chief Tim Campbell discussed the issue of brush growth in the spring leading to fire fuel in the summer in this June 6, 2023, DailyTrib.com article.
“The recent rains are great for filling up our springs and rivers — it’s all good for us — but keep in mind that all of the new plant growth is new fuel (for fires),” he said.
Despite the predicted summer of fires, Marchio expressed confidence in Burnet County’s ability to douse the flames.
“From what I saw last year, I think Burnet County as a whole is prepared to deal with the coming fire season,” he said.
Marchio recommends that Highland Lakes residents be conscious of fire conditions as summer approaches.
Visit the Texas A&M Forest Service wildfire page for fire risks, the status of active wildfires, and information on how to better prepare yourself and protect your property and loved ones in the event of a fire.