Wildfire — Eastland, Texas

2022-03-16 to 2022-03-31 · Eastland, Texas

Event narrative

Several wildfire burning in Eastland County were combined into the Eastland Complex. The complex consisted of the Walling, Wheat Field, Kidd, Oak Mott, Blowing Basin, Mangum, and Cedar Mountain Fires. The initial fire was the Walling Fire that started on March 16th. Three more fires started on March 17th, and the final three began on March 20th. A total of 54,513 acres were burned in this complex. The Kidd Fire burned the most at 42,333 acres, and burned through the town of Carbon causing major damage. Some buildings in Ranger also burned, including a church, and the old police department. A total of 151 structures were reported lost in this complex of fires, and numerous hale bales burned, too. Tragically, an Eastland County Sheriff's Office deputy lost her life while trying to save elderly residents from the approaching fire.

Wider weather episode

Several wildfires burned through the western counties of the Fort Worth CWA in mid March. Counties that were impacted by fires were: Comanche, Mills, Erath, Hood, Eastland, and Montague. The largest complex of wildfires was the Eastland Complex that burned over 54,000 acres, killed one person, and consisted of 7 separate smaller fires.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1015542. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.