Across several Southern states, wildfires raged on Thursday as dry conditions and strong winds prompted evacuations in Texas and led to the partial closure of a major highway in Florida during the height of spring break.
In the Sam Houston National Forest near Houston, a wildfire led to the evacuation of approximately 900 homes and the temporary closure of schools. This prompted the National Weather Service to issue elevated fire warnings in and around Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city.
Covering roughly 3.7 square miles (9.6 square kilometers), the fire was only about 20% contained as of Thursday afternoon, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. Firefighters utilized water-dropping helicopters and bulldozers to combat the blaze and establish containment lines. Initial investigations indicated that the fire likely originated from an intended controlled burn on private property, noted Josh Mizrany, the assistant chief law enforcement officer with the Texas A&M Forest Service. Authorities planned to further investigate the fire’s spread and potentially hand over evidence to local prosecutors.
Fortunately, there have been no widespread reports of damage or injuries. However, one home was reported to have burned down in Montgomery County. As a safety measure, the Cleveland Independent School District, which educates about 12,000 students, canceled classes.
In Florida, particularly the Keys, a significant brush fire that erupted on Tuesday resulted in the closure of the two primary roads leading in and out of the island chain. The closures were due to smoky conditions and to facilitate fire equipment movement. The blaze extended over approximately 34 square miles (88 square kilometers) and was about 20% contained.
Amid the bustling spring break season, officials anticipated intermittent closures of U.S. 1, a crucial route connecting the mainland to the islands. This thoroughfare is heavily trafficked by people commuting from the mainland for work at various hotels and restaurants in Key Largo and the surrounding areas.
In Arkansas, fire crews responded to nearly 100 wildfires on Wednesday, driven by high winds, and faced five new fire incidents on Thursday. Heavy smoke from these blazes led to the closure of several highways, including a segment of Interstate 530 southeast of Little Rock.
The fires inflicted damage in several cities, including Little Rock, where structures were impacted. Notably, St. Joseph’s, a historic 115-year-old building in North Little Rock that once served as an orphanage and now houses a nonprofit focused on urban farming, experienced a roof collapse.
The onset of these fires is attributed to the recent streak of cold, dry weather combined with gusting winds across the South. In Texas, fire hazards stretched from the far northern Panhandle, where vegetation was both frozen and dried out, extending eastward toward the coast.
Meanwhile, South Florida has seen minimal rainfall recently, with the rainy season typically commencing around mid-May. Another cold front bringing dry air was anticipated in South Florida on Thursday night, stated meteorologist Donal Harrigan from the National Weather Service in Miami.
The weather service issued Red Flag warnings for fire conditions in both east Texas and South Florida, forecasting such conditions could persist for several days. Red Flag warnings indicate that conditions are favorable for fires, due to predicted weather patterns including wind gusts reaching up to 25 miles per hour (40 kilometers per hour) paired with humidity levels dropping as low as 18%. Together, these elements continue to desiccate vegetation, heightening the fire risk.