Wildfire in Oldham, Texas

Purple Monster wildfire sparked the evening of April 9th about 9 miles north of Vega, TX due to dry lightning. Gusty winds out of the thunderstorm would aid in the fire spread, as well as critically dry fuels and still low overall RH values. Part of the fire was on rugged and would be a challenge to tackle, and the fire would go on to burn 1911 acres before being contained.

A series of minor weather disturbances moved through the region from April 9th through the 11th. These combined with increased moisture to bring showers and storms to the region. With enough wind shear available in the atmosphere, some of these storms brought severe wind gusts to the region. Dry and windy conditions were in place on April 9th and that helped drive the spread of a wildfire known as The Smooth Eddy Incident which was over 500 acres. Additionally, the Purple Monster Wildfire would be sparked due to dry lightning in Oldham County on the evening of April 9th. That fire would go on to burn 1,911 acres.