Wildfire — Roberts, Texas

2022-03-29 to 2022-03-31 · Roberts, Texas

Event narrative

The Canadian River Bottom Fire started on March 29th and continued through April 2nd. It started between the towns of Canadian and Miami off of highway 60. Canadian Volunteer Fire Department were first resources on scene. Multiple fire department had arrived throughout the evening. Fire crews worked throughout the night establishing containment on both flanks and doing structure protection with heavy equipment and engines. High winds continued throughout the night which kept fire activity very active. In total, 29 structures and 11 vehicles/farm equipment were lost. Livestock relocation was done at the Canadian Rodeo Arena where pens and horse stalls were available for animal relocation. On underground gas pipeline was burning and the company was notified which they shut down the pipeline. The estimated total acreage burned was 39,568 when it ended at the end of shift on April 2nd.

Wider weather episode

Prolonged drought conditions coupled with strong winds, low relative humidity, and receptive fuels contributed to critical fire weather conditions across the Texas Panhandle. A few large wildfires developed on this day.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1015532. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.