GLEN ROSE — After receiving a briefing on the largest wildfire in the state, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a disaster declaration Saturday afternoon that added...
Gov. Greg Abbott, flanked by Somervell County Judge Danny Chambers and Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, gives a news conference about Texas' wildfire response Saturday in Glen Rose.GLEN ROSE — After receiving a briefing on the largest wildfire in the state, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a disaster declaration Saturday afternoon that added Somervell County to the dozens of Texas counties threatened this summer. But there was a silver lining, he said.
Burning more than 10 square miles about 70 miles southwest of Dallas, the Chalk Mountain Fire has destroyed 16 houses and damaged five more, the governor said. Sixty homes have been evacuated, and 40 are threatened. Two injuries have been confirmed — both of them minor. The Chalk Mountain Fire is about 10% contained, and officials said that’s a conservative estimate expected to rise in the coming days. But weather conditions over the next few days will be “trying to make that fire escape,” said Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.Kidd said local officials have done a “great job here of not waiting too long to call for assistance.”
Fire season isn’t over by a long shot, Kidd said. In the past seven days, authorities have responded to 205 wildfires that have burned 22,132 acres. Since 2022 started, they have responded to 6,809 fires that have burned 596,427 acres.added Somervell and nine other counties — including Denton and Kaufman — to a list of 73 others already threatened by fires. The declaration makes it easier for state agencies to respond quickly to emergencies.
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