ABC-7 Speaks With Fort Davis Residents, Firefighters
Residents are safe but shaken in the town of Fort Davis, Texas as firefighters continue battling massive flames in the area. Sunday morning, ABC-7 sent a photojournalist to the fire line to get an up-close look at the damage.
“I’ve been a fireman for ten years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Jaime Santa Cruz, a volunteer firefighter from Van Horn.
At last check, the Texas Forest Service confirmed to ABC-7 the blaze was “zero percent contained.” They said an accurate gauge of the damage would not be available until the Red Cross disaster assessment team determined exact losses, but added that anywhere from 28,000 to 60,000 acres of land had already been burned.
“We watched the fire burn a mountain in about ten seconds,” said Fort Davis resident Jerry Miles.
No serious injuries have been reported since the fire started Saturday afternoon. The flames originated in Presidio County, west of the town of Marfa. Heavy winds pushed the fire into Jeff Davis County where Fort Davis is located. Texas Forest Service officials told ABC-7 they were now afraid the flames could spread even further out into nearby Reeves County.
“The wind will just push that fire. There’s nothing to stop it,” said Miles.
Meantime, emergency relief agencies including FEMA have been trying to help residents in the town of Fort Davis return to normalcy.
“It was all a blur,” resident Peri Mashburn said of her family’s evacuation from Fort Davis Saturday evening. “I was petrified. Literally we threw the dogs in and grabbed overnight stuff and that was it. Both the highways to Alpine and Marfa were closed.”
Sunday afternoon residents began returning to their homes to assess the damage. About 20 homes burned down in the town. More than 50 are estimated to have been destroyed throughout Jeff Davis County.
“Sitting on the porch, as far as we could see, everything was on fire,” said Miles.
Crews continue working to restore electricity, natural gas and water pressure to Fort Davis.
