By late Monday the McDannald Ranch Fire — that's believed to have been started by a lightning strike last week — had a footprint just above 19,000 acres and was 61 percent contained.
Throughout the week that the fire's blazed, a number of personnel have arrived in West Texas to help with operations and to fight the fire. By Monday, there were more than 380 personnel on the ground, including fire crews from about 14 states across the country and a federal response team.
Part of the response effort included a slew of fire engines and helicopters.
On Monday a heavy-lift helicopter pumped several thousand gallons of water out of a tank at the Davis Mountains Preserve, an area local ranchers dug out years ago to collect rain. The Skycrane dropped the water over Paradise Ridge, where the McDannald wildfire is still burning.
The fire no longer has a major flame front or head, but until it is completely contained, officials say new flare ups and fronts are possible.
For more information about the McDannald Ranch Fire, you can call the Fire Information Line at 432-558-8311.
You can also go online to the emergency coordination team’s website here.
