Wildfire in Oldham, Texas

Critical fire weather conditions occurred in Oldham County on March 8th as observed relative humidity values were around 6% at the Vega West Texas Mesonet. RFTIs of 5-8 were observed for nearly 6 hours that afternoon. The Maroon fire was sparked due to a passenger motorized RV. The fire was contained morning of March 9th with the total area burned being 745 acres. The fire did cause US Highway 385 to be closed between Channing and Boys Ranch for a period of time.

Critical fire weather conditions occurred on March 8th and 9th across the combined Panhandles. With continued lack of significant rainfall, grasses continued to be very dry and freeze cured across the region. With relative humidity values less than 10 percent and south to southwest winds of 15 to 20mph and gusts up to 40mph, this resulted in high fire danger across the region, and two fires that developed during this time. Fire weather conditions improved slightly on March 10th, where elevated conditions occurred. Winds were on the lighter side that day but did increase into the 10 to 20mph range and relative humidity values around 25 to 35 percent. However, any small spark continued to create wildfires given the dry nature of the region.