Overview
- The wildfire began on Monday, August 24, west of Palo Pinto and spread into Jack County to burn roughly 80,000–85,000 acres by Thursday.
- Officials reported the fire was 12% contained in a morning incident update and later public reporting placed containment closer to 21% as crews secured portions of the perimeter.
- Some evacuation notices have been lifted but a temporary shelter remains at Jacksboro’s Twin Lakes Recreation Center and multiple structures, including Worth Ranch and a family canoe business, have been damaged or destroyed.
- A unified command led by the Texas A&M Forest Service is using dozers, engines and aircraft under a Temporary Flight Restriction, with about 200 personnel on scene and a FEMA Fire Management Assistance Grant providing federal cost-sharing.
- Forecasters say high heat, low humidity and gusty, variable winds are keeping fine fuels critically dry, which raises the risk of renewed extreme fire behavior and means damage assessments and recovery could take days to weeks.