San Antonio, Bexar County firefighters deploy to Panhandle wildfire

With fires continuing to spread across the Texas Panhandle, several local firefighters have been called on to help douse the spreading flames. The Texas A&M Forest Service is working to contain four fires that have left thousands directly in the line of danger, and the agency has called on members of both the San Antonio Fire Department and several Bexar County Emergency Service Districts to help contain the flames.

The Smokehouse Creek Fire has spread to engulf 500,000 acres as of Wednesday morning, February 28, which means it has grown more than 10-fold since Tuesday morning when it was estimated to cover less than 50,000 acres. The major wildfire has already become Texas’s second largest wildfire in the state’s history. The largest fire burned more than 907,000 acres in 2007, and the most damaging was the Bastrop fire in 2011 that destroyed 1,600 homes and burned more than 32,000 acres.

“We have six confirmed deployed personnel and two more on standby,” a San Antonio Fire Department spokesperson told MySA late Tuesday night. Two incident management team members left for the Texas Panhandle early Tuesday morning to help manage the hordes of firefighter crews working the region. Further, two wildland personnel with the SAFD were deployed at noon to help with ground operations, two Texas A&M Task Force 1 members in San Antonio were preparing for deployment for search and rescue work Tuesday night, and two more TXTF 1 helicopter team members were on standby as of Tuesday night to help in rescue efforts.

It’s not just the San Antonio Fire Department that’s deploying help either. Bexar County ESD No. 8 announced Tuesday night that it sent two firefighters to help douse the flames.

“Bexar County ESD No. 8 Fire Department has sent 2 firefighters to assist with wildfires in the panhandle,” the agency posted on Facebook Tuesday night. “They are deploying as part of the TIFMAS strike team with other local and regional teams. Please keep all the firefighters and the residents of the panhandle in your thoughts.”

Bexar County ESD No. 2 also deployed firefighters to help in the fight.

“As part of the request from the Texas A&M Forest service Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS), Bexar County wildland fire personnel have deployed alongside multiple other departments from the region to assisting firefighting efforts in the Texas Panhandle where over 250,000 acres have burned,” the local agency post on Facebook Tuesday evening. “Please keep your BC2FD, regional, and statewide firefighters in your thoughts as they respond to assist our fellow Texans.”

On Tuesday, the National Weather Service in Amarillo announced more evacuations that include: Texas County along Highway 136 to mile 34; Highway 136 and Scott’s Acres in Hutchinson County; Roberts County and Miami. Areas of Stinnett have also been evacuated, according to the city’s social media pages.