Firefighters scurried to douse hot spots and brush fires across North Texas on Wednesday while homeowners sifted though blackened rubble left behind by wind-stoked fires a day earlier.
GUY REYNOLDS/DMN
Ranch hand Jerrod Scott tries to beat down a brush fire that burned several acres of Winscott Ranch on Wednesday in Tarrant County near the Johnson County line. The National Weather Service issued a wind warning for today in North Texas counties along and west of Interstate 35.
Unusually windy conditions will last at least another day. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning running from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. today in North Texas counties along and west of Interstate 35. Gusts could top 40 mph.
On Wednesday, scorched homes, trailers and sheds were still smoldering in Paradise, Wise County, as residents surveyed the damage and talked with insurance agents.
MICHAEL AINSWORTH/DMN
Elaine Wright looks over the remnants of her parents' trailer in the Wise County town of Paradise. 'Our whole childhood is right here,' she said Wednesday.
Doug Wright wiped away tears as he looked at his charred home, reduced to piles of blackened wood and melted metal.
"It took 40 years of our life, that's what it's done," he said. "Everything we had was in that house."
Tuesday's fire in Paradise claimed 15 homes and 650 acres, causing about $1 million in damage, said Paul Cunningham, the Wise County fire marshal.
Another fire near Reno in Parker County consumed more than 800 acres and destroyed six structures Tuesday, county Fire Marshal Shawn Scott said.
Overall, fires across Parker County burned 3,500 acres of land Tuesday, Mr. Scott said. The county's 911 dispatch center received 1,100 calls between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. regarding 23 different fires, he said.
About 450 firefighters from 21 fire departments in the county responded, Mr. Scott said. That total does not include firefighters from departments outside the county who assisted, he said.
"Today was spent picking up the pieces from [Tuesday]," Mr. Scott said. "Regrouping, recouping and preparing hopefully for some calmer weather, but also being prepared for anything that might come in. Our weather conditions have not improved to the point where we're ready to relax."
The succession of wildfires across the state prompted Gov. Rick Perry to issue a disaster proclamation Wednesday for 152 Texas counties, making them eligible for state aid.
Fire officials said discarded cigarettes probably caused the Paradise fire and a 2,000-acre blaze Tuesday in Benbrook, Tarrant County.
"You just look and see that it started at the side of the road," said Benbrook Fire Chief Tommy Davis.
Fires continued to surface Wednesday in areas west of Fort Worth. A grass fire near Joshua, Johnson County, burned nearly 65 acres, but firefighters contained the blaze before it reached a handful of homes.
Firefighters also extinguished a small fire Wednesday afternoon along State Highway 114 in Wise County north of Chico. Sparks from a live electrical wire caused the fire, which burned about 30 acres.
And in Tarrant County, small fires reignited near Benbrook along Interstate 20 and Markum Ranch Road, burning about an acre.
Wednesday's winds between 20 and 35 miles per hour were milder than Tuesday's gusts, which reached nearly 60 miles per hour in some areas. But the winds were strong enough to halt cranes Wednesday at some North Texas construction sites.
Arlington-based Bob Moore Construction shut down cranes Tuesday and Wednesday at office building project sites in Fort Worth and Plano, said Dino Sideris, the firm's safety director.
The cranes were dormant Tuesday, then briefly resumed operations Wednesday before the winds picked up again. Mr. Sideris said neither the firm nor the crane operators wanted to risk the wind blowing a crane over or whisking heavy materials onto neighboring buildings and roads.
"Does it hurt our schedule? Yes," Mr. Sideris said. "It's just better to take the high road and be more safety-conscious and just think of the welfare of everyone."
In Dallas, a crane at the Stoneleigh Hotel was back in use Wednesday, but a construction manager said the crane would stop if winds hit 30 mph.
Back in Paradise, on the Wrights' charred property, Mr. Wright's daughter, Casandra Castillo, stood outside her nearby home, which was unscathed.
"I'm really devastated that my house made it and not theirs," she said. "I wish their house would have made it."
Another daughter, Elaine Wright, sobbed as she rummaged through debris: "Our whole childhood is right here," she said.
Mr. Wright, 62, said he felt especially bad about losing items his family cherishes: his grandmother's bedroom dresser, his knife and stamp collections, china that belonged to his wife Sandra's grandmother.
Mr. Wright doesn't know how long it will take to clean up, but he hopes to rebuild. In the middle of the charred ruins sat a tan 1955 Chevy truck that he planned to get running for his teenage grandson.
For now, Mr. Wright thinks that the Chevy can be salvaged. It's one of the few things that brighten his spirits now.
Still, he remained calm Wednesday. He attributed that to his 21 years in the Army, including time spent in Vietnam.
"Tragedy is no new thing," he said. "Mentally, I was set for the worst."
Staff writers Debra Dennis and Scott Goldstein and staff photographer Cheryl Diaz Meyer contributed to this report.
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