A wildfire burning in Johnson County since Sunday is now 95% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
The "Double Back Fire" began on Sunday in Godley and has burned more than 1,300 acres, according to Johnson County Emergency Management director Jamie Moore and the forest service.
On Thursday afternoon, the TAFS said firefighters are continuing to patrol and monitor the fire area for smoke or hotspots, but that the fire was nearly contained.
“We always expect that wildfire season is going to be difficult and for the past week, we have watched every county that’s around have wildland fire. So, we knew that it was just a matter of time before we did,” Moore said Wednesday. “Unfortunately we didn’t expect our wildland fire, really, to be double the size of any other fire around us.”
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Wednesday marked a critical day for crews in Johnson County with high winds and low humidity. The winds on Wednesday were higher than any day since the fire first started, testing containment lines.
“We have a greater chance on days like this of the fire escaping containment and starting to go again, so it’s critical that we watch today and every area of our fire. Particularly along the perimeters and along the fire line to make sure the fire line is going to stay put,” Moore explained.
This week, Texas A&M Forest Service raised the State Wildfire Preparedness level to Level 4 due to the recent increase in wildfire activity across the state and the growing potential for wildfires to become more severe and harder to control.
Very high to extreme fire danger is forecast for broad regions of the state, including areas along the Interstate 35 corridor between Dallas, Waco, Austin and San Antonio, and extending west to Abilene and Wichita Falls. Over the past week, state and local firefighters have responded to 119 wildfires that burned 9,012 acres.
The "Double Back Fire" in Johnson County has burned three barns.
“We’re fortunate those aren’t residential structures but when you’re talking about in an agricultural community where those barns may have had hay, or those barns may have been shelter for animals, it’s very impactful,” Moore said.
Tammy Shaw and her family have lived in Godley for more than 40 years. She said the livestock behind her home, which included cows, were removed as a precaution.
“We had people over here with trailers getting cows. They were meeting up down the road getting cows, so everyone worked together to get all of the livestock out,” Shaw said. “It’s scary. It’s scary. You see it on the news. You don’t see it in your backyard.”
Johnson County Emergency Management reported late Wednesday night, some areas still need to be mitigated. Godley Fire Department officials will patrol the fire overnight.
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