KRTS has just learned that HWY 118 is closed just north of Arabella Mountain all the way to the Y where it forks off on 166 to Valentine. This is due to smoke coming from controlled burns near the Rock House Fire.
KRTS staffer Anne Adkins went to the Southern Area Incident Management Team's evening meeting at the McDonald Observatory, and brings us the following report:
Officials predict the weather tonight and all day tomorrow is and will be very favorable for fire fighting. Winds will come from the south west with speeds in the single digits and a relative humidity of 19. The fire fighters are confident they can further contain this fire tomorrow.
A team hiked into Madera Canyon today with drip torches and burned the area out to 118. Another team made a dozer line between Gavina Ridge and 118 and a separate diagonal line from HWY 118 to the Eppenhauer Ranch to stop any further easterly progression of the fire. There is high confidence they can get this area contained which will enable them to go back and fight the fire on the northerly areas.
The fire continues to move west toward Bicycle and Cherry Canyon to the north. The communications team advises area residents to look for regular updates and maps on the inciweb.org website to stay advised on the progress of the fire.
KRTS has also learned that the Shurley Fire in Presidio County was contained at 6 PM. According to the County's current estimate, 3,500 acres burned. KRTS spoke with Marfa Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Gary Mitschke. He credited the efforts of local ranchers who fought the blaze, along with the Marfa Volunteer Fire Dept, the Presidio Volunteer Fire Dept, and the Border Patrol. Additionally, the Texas Forest Service helped in the final part of the fire with a spotter plane. All of these efforts helped them get the Shurley Fire under control, despite the "nightmare high winds" in the afternoon. Fire Chief Mitschke said he will take another trip out to the site Thursday afternoon.