Wildfire in Moore, Texas

On March 10th, a high based thunderstorm with dry lightning ignited a wildfire in far southwest Moore County. The fire, which would be named Yellow Fire, sparked around 6:30pm and occurred near the border of Moore, Oldham and Hartley counties. Gusty, erratic winds occurred at the Boys Ranch mesonet around that time, and while relative humidity values were around 20%, the winds and the critically dry fuels allowed for rapid wildfire growth. The wildfire was estimated to have burned 14,374 acres and was contained on March 13th. East and westbound SH 354 was temporarily closed from US Highway 385 to US Highway 87 from March 10th through early on the 11th. Additional roads also experienced at least temporary closures such as RM 1061 at FM 281 and Highway 385. There was also a voluntary evacuation of Valley de Oro and an evacuation of the Boys Ranch community.

An upper level system brought showers and thunderstorms during the late afternoon and evening of March 10th across the combined Panhandles. The thunderstorms impacted the northeast but the state of the atmosphere was conducive for strong winds aloft to come down to the surface with even some of the lighter showers and storms. This created a few wind gusts exceeding 58 mph. The next morning, on the 11th, the upper level system brought high winds to the combined Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles which created wind gusts upwards of 71 mph early in the morning hours.