BELL COUNTY, Texas — It’s no secret that stepping outside in Central Texas right now is something a lot of Texans are trying to avoid as temperatures continue to soar into the triple digits.
According to 25 News Meteorologist Josh Johns, that heat is raising the risk for wildfires.
”After shutting off the rain, the vegetation is really drying out and that’s why we’re seeing that wildfire risk starting to ramp up,” Johns said.
In fact, much of Central Texas is already under burn bans and more are expected to come soon.
”As of Thursday, July 20th, this is where our burn bans are right now, and you can notice that most of them are actually falling west of I-35,” Josh Johns said.
“That’s because, with the drought monitor, that’s where drought is intensifying. That's also where we didn’t see much rain over the Spring.”
With conditions where they are now, wildland firefighters with Temple Fire and Rescue are gearing up for what may be a very active fire season —making sure they have the means to fight a fire with less water and gear.
”For structure fires, we have bigger trucks,” said Chief Mark Engelke, Battalion Chief and wildland firefighter with Temple Fire and Rescue.
"I’n the wildland environment, we call them type six engines, which are small brush trucks. More maneuverable, quicker, but they hold a lot less water.”
The clothes they wear are also a downgrade.
With structure fires, they get gear that is thicker, heavier and more protective, as opposed to shirts and pants that are lightweight and a little cooler but, they only protect against direct contact with flames for a very short amount of time.
With the lack of water, they are also fighting much of the fire with shovels and other hand tools.
”It’s a lot of raking the soil, trimming trees sometimes, and more digging than we see in structure fires,” Chief Engelke said.
They are getting prepared now because it doesn’t look like this intense heat is going away anytime soon.
”The good news is, at least as we head into the weekend, we might get a little bit more moisture in here but, rain prospects look pretty slim for at least the next two weeks or so,” Johns said.
It is important to be careful when operating tools like welders or torches outdoors, as well as yard tools that could cause a spark when hitting rocks.
It could cause a small fire that may to spread quickly and become an out of control wildfire.
