Central Texas fire crews help with statewide wildfire outbreak

TEXAS - Five fires are burning in North Texas. 

Several crews from Central Texas are helping contain the fire lines in Palo Pinto and Sutton counties.

Central Texas fire chief speaks on wildfires

Local perspective:

Travis County ESD 1 Chief Donnie Norman is leading the 196th strike team assembled by the Texas Forest Service this year. Last week, he wrapped up an 8-day assignment on the big 90,000-acre blaze west of Fort Worth.

"When I was on the Ross Fire, I was on Strike team 186. And then the strike team that I'm at right now, (Strike Texas 196) which has five engines, a water tender, a strike team leader, which is myself and 21 personnel," said Chief Norman. 

Chief Norman is part of a larger deployment totaling 634 personnel. 

Dig deeper:

Along with Travis County ESD 1, the local fire departments that are part of the state mutual aid program that have recently been deployed include, Austin, Round Rock, Pflugerville and Lake Travis. 

There are also specialized state EMS units and teams that deal with hazardous materials.

"I have three ESD-1 guys on my engine. I have one trainee that we brought on from our Liberty Hill Fire Department. So, they're on our engine. So, I have four personnel that are on one of my engines. We have a fire that's just a little bit east of here. I've got four people there. But in totality, ESD1's got 15 people deployed in different locations and different roles throughout the state," said Chief Norman. 

The deployment of 15 firefighters does not create a staffing crisis locally, according to Chief Norman.

"Yeah, so minimum staffing is not affected at home at all. So, the state of Texas actually pays us to deploy our personnel, and then they also pay to backfill every one of those positions that we have back at home. So, operations at home are no different today with us having 15 people deployed as it will be in a month from now. Hopefully, when the rain comes in, we will get back to some sense of normalcy," said Chief Norman. 

Officials with the Texas A&M Forest Service said 34 fire suppression aircraft were also brought in by the state. They are providing the only predictable relief from the sky.

"It is very coordinated, and it's impressive to be right up against within just a short distance away from a 737 flying low, coming over top of us. And those are very skilled pilots," said Chief Norman.  

Big picture view:

The state is still in the process of assembling its own firefighting air force. 

Earlier this year, two helicopters and three spotter aircraft were purchased. The acquisition of four large tankers is currently in the procurement process. 

Lawmakers provided $257 million to purchase and operate the firefighting aircraft. As of now, there is no official lift-off date for that new lone star air force.

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