Texas A&M Forest Service prepares for wildfires in the Panhandle

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - With wildfire season underway and the amount of fires reported recently, fire agencies are well prepared for the high winds and fire risks.

Texas A&M Forest Service has moved resources around throughout the state to better position them where they will be most advantageous in order to prepare for expected high winds.

Amarillo, Lubbock, Childress, and Dumas have been stocked with extra equipment, specifically fire engines and bulldozers.

Dumas even has four single-engine air tankers that can drop about 300 to 400 gallons of water or fire retardant.

“Most of the fires that we have being located in the upper part of the Texas panhandle, we felt that it’d be more advantageous to have our aviation staged right there and Dumas because it’s more of a centralized location,” said Juan Rodriguez, Public Information Officer for Texas A&M Forest Service. “So if we get a fire either on the northwest part of the Panhandle or the northeast part of the panhandle, it would take the same amount of time for response for that aviation to get there and be better utilized,”

Rodriguez says panhandle land is flat until its not. When responding to wildfires, the different types of equipment is used for different terrains.

“When we get called, we’re getting called for equipment and so typically it’s for access issues that the fire departments aren’t able to get to certain parts of the fire because of topography and things like that,” continues Rodriguez.

Variety of equipment and vehicles are needed to contain and put out wildfires.

Texas A&M Forest Service utilizes, air tankers, bulldozers, motor graders, and a strike team known as TIFMAS or Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System, which consists of 4 fire engines and one command vehicle.

“With the dozers, they move a lot slower than a fire engine but they’re able to move through all that rough topography and the same thing goes with the aircraft. Aircraft is heavily utilized in rough topography because that’s areas where people and engines can’t get into it,” says Rodriguez.

In preparation to adequately serve the panhandle region, Texas A&M Forest service is stocking up on equipment in 4 cities.

Amarillo:

• 3 bulldozers
• 1 motor grader
• TIFMAS Strike team
  • 4 fire engines
  • 1 command vehicles

Dumas:

• 4 single engine air tankers

Childress:

• 5 bulldozers
• 1 engine
• 1 motor graders
• TIFMAS Strike team
  • 4 fire engines
  • 1 command vehicles

Lubbock:

• 2 bulldozers
• 1 motor grader
• TIFMAS Strike team
  • 4 fire engines
  • 1 command vehicles

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