Residents return home after Das Goat fire
After eight days, the Das Goat fire that burned through 1,092 acres in Medina County was declared 100 percent contained by the Texas Wildfire Incident Response System, allowing impacted area residents to return home after being evacuated.
“We appreciate the support we have received throughout this incident and are proud to the operating in the Great State of Texas and Medina County,” read a Facebook post from Medina County Emergency Services District 1 (ESD1) Fire and EMS [sic].
Multiple agencies, including Texas A&M Forest Service, Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Medina County Sheriff’s Office and the Medina County Office of Emergency Management, responded to the fire that originated Friday, March 25, from a burning car on CR 271.
On March 28, the Medina County Office of Emergency Management said the fire was 70 percent contained, though many county rounds still remained closed.
On March 29, the Medina County Office of Emergency Management said the fire was at 95 percent containment, reopened CR 2615 and 271 and allowed residents to return to the High Mountain Ranch Subdivision.
By Saturday, April 2, the fire was deemed 100 percent contained.
“While this event will take years to heal from, it showed what this community and State are all about,” read another Facebook post from ESD1.
Statewide, the risk of wildfire remains high. During the last week of March, state, federal and local firefighters responded to 192 wildfires that burned more than 173,000 acres, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
More than 500 firefighters from the forest service service and Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System have been deployed across Texas, as well as personnel from 28 states.
“We want to ensure that the state has adequate resources to protect Texas' citizens and natural resources from wildfire,” Wes Moorehead, forest service chief, said. “We are working with other states to mobilize additional fire resources to Texas for assistance.”
The highest risk of fire danger continues to be in West Texas and the Panhandle, according to the forest service.