Volunteer firefighters from Hale Center and other nearby communities were called to the report of a large grass fire before noon Sunday in Hale County. The Texas Forest Service was also called to help out southeast of Hale Center.
TFS named it the #ConeFire and sent three single-engine air tankers from Amarillo to help volunteer firefighters. Those air tankers made three drops of fire retardant on the fire, TFS said.
Just after 1:30 p.m., the TFS said the #ConeFire was 20 percent contained. Just before 5:30 p.m., TFS said on Twitter that the fire was 100 percent contained.
Originally TFS thought the fire burned an estimated 350 acres. Later, the estimate was changed to 182 acres.
Phillip Truitt with Texas A&M Forest Service said Sunday afternoon that, “Fire crews are making good progress on the fire.”
No homes were listed as destroyed or threatened according to the TFS website.
The National Weather Service in Lubbock issued a special statement Sunday for the South Plains, saying there would be elevated fire danger until 7:00 p.m.
Low humidity, winds up to 20 miles per hour and dry vegetation were cited as factors by the NWS.
“These conditions will support the spread of wildfires,” NWS said. “Outdoor burning and activities that involve open sparks or flames are discouraged.”
