The Texas Department of Transportation announced a road closure in Armstrong County for another fire incident Thursday afternoon, March 19.
TxDOT reported in a 3:06 p.m. update that FM 1151 was closed from State Highway 207 to County Road 6 due to an area fire. People were advised to find an alternative route if this affected their commute.
TxDOT later said in an update on social media that the road had reopened to traffic.
The Friends of the Armstrong County Fire Departments advised on Facebook at 2:03 p.m. that the Armstrong County Fire Department was responding to a reported grass fire west of Alamo, between 3rd and 4th street.
Update on Bright Lights fire
TxDOT said the Thursday fire is a separate incident from the Bright Lights Fire, which was an estimated 85% contained as of 5:10 p.m. and 251 acres in size, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. That fire burned in rough canyon topography, making access difficult, the Forest Service said. Evacuations of five homes and the AI data center had been lifted, and all structures were saved.
According to the Armstrong County Sheriff’s Office, Wednesday’s grass fire was caused by a vehicle that had entered private land without permission and crashed into the bottom of a dry creek bed off of CR 19. The driver was arrested.
Critical fire conditions return
The National Weather Service in Amarillo said the warming trend continues this week, with widespread 90s expected on Friday and Saturday, March 20 and 21 — and some locations could even go above 100 degrees on Saturday. Because of these very dry and hot conditions, NWS said critical fire weather conditions are forecast on Saturday across the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles. A fire watch has been issued for the area for Saturday.
The panhandles have seen multiple fires burn throughout the region since December, when low precipitation paired with low humidity, strong winds and warm temperatures put dry vegetation fuels at further fire risk.
A Fuels and Fire Behavior Advisory was issued March 18 for the Central and Southern Great Plains by The Southern Area Decision Support group, in coordination with state and federal partners in the Southern, Southwest and Rocky Mountain Geographic Areas. It covers the grass-dominant landscapes of southeast Colorado, western and central Kansas, northern and western Oklahoma, northwest Texas and eastern New Mexico.
This is a developing story; more information will be added as it becomes available.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: TxDOT reports FM 1151 closed in Armstrong County for 2nd fire
Reporting by Kristina Wood, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
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