FRITCH, Texas – As several wildfires continue to burn in the Texas Panhandle, many people have asked the same question: Why aren’t firefighters using planes and helicopters?
It’s a hot topic that Governor Greg Abbott brought up during a press conference in Borger, Texas on Friday.
“It’s something that when we realized that, because of winds, because of other challenges, there was air support that was not provided initially. If it had been provided, its possible that the fire could have been more contained,” Abbott said. “That’s the kind of thing that lets me and other decision makers in Austin, Texas know that if we can provide the type of equipment and personnel that we’ll be able to better fight fires like this, it’s something that we need to step up and do. Bottom line is we want to make sure that we don’t have a repeat of this type of fire in the future.”
Houston Fire Department Captain Beau Moreno echoed that message in the field on Friday. The crew hasn’t seen any air support, and for a good reason, Moreno said.
Cpt. Moreno: “My professional opinion is because of the wind speeds that are going on right now, and the aircraft just can’t handle the wind speeds, and the drops would be insufficient.”
Gage Goulding: “And on a day like tomorrow where it’s only getting windier, that could mean a problem.”
Cpt. Moreno: “That’s a problem. The more wind, the faster it runs in this area right here with that knee high grass that grasses runs, and it runs quick.”
The Governor also hinted that deepening the state’s roster of firefighting aircraft may be something lawmakers need to do in the coming years.
“Maybe the best tool that we could add to the toolbox to prevent a fire like this would be better, different types of planes to make sure that we would be able to drop retardant and other material that would slow or stop a fire,” Abbott said.
Collectively, the fires burning in the Panhandle have burned more than 1.25 million acres. The Smokehouse Creek Fire is now the largest ever in state history.