Potter County fire near Amarillo burns est. 8,118 acres, 100 percent contained

Grass fires fueled by high winds and dry conditions burned thousands of acres and prompted evacuations Tuesday around Amarillo and the Panhandle. Two fires in the area had sparked and were 100 percent contained as of Saturday.

As of 7:40 p.m. Saturday, the Bent Willow Fire in Potter County was an estimated 8,118 acres and 100 percent contained.

"All state resources have been released and the fire has transitioned back to the local unit," the Texas A&M Forest Service (TAMFS) said on Twitter Saturday.

Responders were also fighting a grass fire in Carson County near the Potter County line Saturday. The Zanzibar Fire was an estimated 353 acres and 100 percent contained, according to the TAMFS incident map. The fire was located east of Amarillo and the airport, between I-40 and Hwy. 60.

In Friday updates about the Bent Willow Fire posted on Twitter, TAMFS said "Crews patrolled the fire today and found minimal heat. Firefighters will monitor the fire over the weekend. ... No smoke is observed across the fire area today. Crews will continue to patrol the area and check containment lines."

"Crews continued to widen and improve containment line today. Aviation support flew the fire today and observed minimal smoke from vegetation burning well-inside containment lines," TAMFS said in a Thursday post.

According to the Potter County Fire Rescue (PCFR) via Facebook in a 6 p.m. Thursday update, the fire was about 85% contained, and crews saved 346 homes in the area.

TAMFS said in an earlier post, "Increase in acreage due to more accurate size up in daylight. Crews will focus their efforts on active areas of the fire. Aviation will be utilized to reinforce containment lines," noting the previous increase to 8,000 acres from 5,000 acres.

According to PCFR via Facebook on Wednesday morning, "Crews worked throughout the night to get this fire contained but the winds combined with high fuel load and rough terrain made that difficult. We will continue to work today and expect to have a better estimate of size once air attack gets in the sky. So far we are unaware of any lost structures but that may change due to the size of the fire. It was reported that a railroad bridge was damaged but PCFR cannot confirm that at this time."

"Yesterday, Texas A&M Forest Service responded to 5 wildfires for 9,613.9 acres burned, including the 8,000-acre #BentWillowFire and the 947-acre #JennySlipperFire," TAMFS said in a Wednesday Twitter update. "Continue to be cautious today! Critically dry vegetation remains across West Texas and will support wildfire."

All evacuation orders related to the Bent Willow fire were lifted around 10 p.m. Tuesday, allowing residents to return to their homes and U.S. Highway 287 to re-open as crews continued to battle the blaze that had consumed thousands of acres, according to a social media post from the Amarillo Area Office of Emergency Management.

Evacuation orders were issued early Tuesday evening and part of U.S. Hwy. 287 was closed after the National Weather Service office in Amarillo issued a Fire Warning Tuesday at the request of the Amarillo Office of Emergency Management (OEM) for Potter County and TAMFS for the wildfire, which had then burned an estimated 5,000 acres northwest of the city.

"Additional evacuations are in progress due to a wind shift out of the west. The fire is having containment and control issues due to the influence of the winds," TAMFS said via Twitter around 8 p.m.

The acreage was increased on the TAMFS incident viewer map from an original estimate of 1,200 acres.

NWS said at the request of OEM, a mandatory evacuation order was issued for all areas north of Givens Avenue and west of Hwy. 287 due to the wildfire. Residents were instructed to head south towards Amarillo, and a shelter was designated at the River Road High School gym. A mandatory evacuation order has been also put in place for Riviera Park, with a shelter designated at 4000 West Cherry Ave. in Amarillo.

"The #BentWillowFire in Potter County remains 1,200 acres and 0% contained. The fire is burning in grass with high resistance to control," TAMFS said in an earlier update. "Northbound US287 is closed. Evacuations are in progress for residents in the area."

"The fire in central Potter County (known now as 'Bent Willow') continues to grow in size," the NWS Amarillo office said in an earlier update. "Winds are still pushing 30-40 mph with gusts 55 to 65 mph. Hwy 287 is threatened by this fire, at the Canadian River Bridge."

According to the West Texas Mesonet, wind gusts were recorded through 8 p.m. as high as 93 mph at Pine Springs; 71 mph at Friona; 68 mph at Anton and Olton; 67 mph at Pantex, Dumas and Amherst; 65 mph at Canyon and Morton; 64 mph at Levelland, Herford and Dora; and 63 mph at Stinnett, Bootleg, Borger, Slaton, Silverton, Palo Duro Lake, Hart and Muleshoe.

The Texas Department of Transportation's Amarillo office reported that northbound US 87 was closed at Givens Avenue due to the fire, and traffic was directed back to the city. "If you’re traveling to or from Dumas, please make other arrangements and stay clear of this area," PCFR said.

According to the NWS warning, at 4:56 p.m. Tuesday, the dangerous wildfire was located six miles east of Valley De Oro, or 18 miles northwest of Amarillo, moving rapidly east-northeast at 3 to 4 mph. Tierra Grande was threatened by this fire, which approached Hwy. 287 between Masterson and Amarillo, the warning noted.

According to PCFR via Facebook, "air attack advises smoke may be impacting travel on 287. The Potter County Sheriff's Office is en route to assess road closures. BNSF trains have been halted in the area. Air attack has advised that it looks like the fire will go around the Park Circle Neighborhood, but evacuations were recommended on Park Circle North to be safe." PCFR said the grass fire was originally located off of Brickplant near the Helium Plant. TAMFS and Potter County Road and Bridge assets were requested, as well as a first alarm from Amarillo Fire Department for structure protection and possible evacuations.

The NWS warning urged residents to be prepared to evacuate quickly if requested and follow all safety instructions from local emergency management officials. Do not drive into smoke. "Firefighters and incident responders should anticipate extreme fire behavior including a wind-driven and torching fire," the warning stated.

Czar Fire near Borger

In addition, TAMFS responded Tuesday to a request for assistance in Hutchinson County on the #CzarFire, which was an estimated 64.4 acres and 90% contained. "Firefighters are diligently patrolling containment lines and engine crews are mitigating any heat found near the fire perimeter," according to a post from the agency on Twitter.

The National Weather Service of Amarillo office (NWS) said blowing dust continued to be an issue on Tuesday along with critical fire weather danger.

According to the City of Borger / Hutchinson County Office of Emergency Management (OEM), residents were able to return to their homes in the area of Beverly Hills and airport after evacuation requests were lifted earlier Tuesday; 136 North remained closed while 1559 was open for trafffic. OEM reported the wildfire in the area around 2:44 p.m. on 3474, north of Borger, and urged traffic to be cautious of responding emergency personnel while 136 north of Borger was detoured.

A Blowing Dust Warning remained in effect until 9 p.m. Tuesday for portions of the northern Texas and Oklahoma Panhandle, the NWS Amarillo office said, and areas of very low visibility made travel dangerous especially in rural areas between cities and towns.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Borger, state agencies battle wildfire during critical fire weather