A fast-moving wildfire west of Fort Worth has grown into one of the biggest fires ever documented in North Texas, with severe dryness across the region continuing to hinder firefighting efforts.
As of Sept. 10, the Ross Fire had scorched 90,400 acres in Palo Pinto and Jack counties and was 76% contained, the Texas A&M Forest Service reported.
Here’s what to know
Igniting near Palo Pinto on Aug. 24, the Ross Fire raced through parched ranchland and expanded rapidly, reaching about 50,000 acres by August 25 and topping 80,000 acres by August 26, according to KERA News. That puts it behind only the 2011 Possum Kingdom Complex Fire as the largest in the region’s recorded history.
A prolonged lack of rainfall has worsened conditions. The National Weather Service says the Dallas-Fort Worth area has gone more than 53 days without measurable rain, the seventh-longest such stretch on record, and the Fort Worth office said August was the driest August ever recorded locally…