Climate experts warn of enhanced wildfire threat in North Texas
Climate researchers said the ingredients are in place for a wildfire threat North Texas hasn't seen in at least 10 years.
One Fort Worth neighborhood remembers the threat of fire well. It had to be evacuated during the 2023 fire.
The combination of high winds and dry weather has led to warnings for the next few days across Texas, with the fire risk especially high between North and West Texas.
It doesn't seem like that long ago to Angie Gomez when the green pasture she now sees across from her house was scorched black in 2023 from an out-of-control grass fire in far north Fort Worth.
"It was super scary," said Gomez. We had babies crying and parents couldn't get home to their children after school. It was really, really scary. And it kept inching closer and closer to our house. So we were very concerned about it."
The last few years have seen wildfires destroy homes across North Texas from Possum Kingdom Lake to Balch Springs.
With a storm system approaching over the next few days that will bring wind gusts of 50+ mph over dry ground, the conditions are right, according to researchers, for a fast-moving fire to cause major destruction.
"There is an extremely dangerous situation developing," said Max Dugan Knight, a climate data scientist with Deep Sky.
He said a weather pattern called hydro climate whiplash has created the highest risk for wildfires across the western and central part of the state in at least 10 years.
"That is when you get extreme rainfall, at some times followed by extreme drought and that causes a lot of vegetation growth," Knight said. "When you have the rainfall, and when you have the drought, all that vegetation becomes kindling for the fire."
You don't have to convince those who have had recent close calls to be mindful when there's an enhanced risk.
"We're all concerned about it, of course, and we want what's best for our neighborhood," said Gomez. "And I think we're just going to have to slack off on barbecuing this week. Right on the weekend. That's pretty much it. Everybody lay low and stay safe."
If you plan to do any outdoor cooking or operate a fire pit, be extra careful because of the high winds.
