A wildfire that scorched through at least 300 acres Monday forced the evacuation of dozens of homes near Possum Kingdom Lake in Palo Pinto County.
The Texas A&M Forest Service said the blaze spread along the northern edge of the lake. None of the fire has been contained, the forest service said.
Update: the #1148Fire in Palo Pinto County remains an estimated 300 acres and 0% contained. #txfire
Updated public information map of the fire as of July 18. This is a preliminary perimeter and subject to change. pic.twitter.com/QX02hiEjaY
— Incident Information – Texas A&M Forest Service (@AllHazardsTFS) July 19, 2022
KXAS-TV (NBC5) reported that about 50 homes were being evacuated Monday. No injuries have been reported, NBC5 said.
It’s unclear how the fire was started. Possum Kingdom Lake is located about 80 miles west of Fort Worth.
A burn ban is in effect for Palo Pinto County as of July 11.
The Fort Worth Fire Department said Monday that the department was responding to a record number of grassfires this year. So far, there have been 362 grassfires, a 704% increase from 2021, the department said.
“The FWFD is asking for the public’s help in combating the number of grassfires it’s responding to daily,” the department said in a news release. “As the weather forecast continues to show no signs of precipitation or a break in the extremely dry heat, the number of grassfires is only expected to continue rising.”
