Today (Monday) on the weekday interview show Talk At Ten we spoke to public information officer Jerry Rohnert, who gave an update on the Gage Holland Fire, which began just west of Alpine yesterday (Sunday) afternoon in Brewster County. The fire made extreme runs to the east and the northeast yesterday afternoon.
According to Rohnert, the fire burned above Sunny Glen subdivision. Resources fought the fire from the east side. There was a huge effort to stop the fire at FM 1703. The fire was also active on the west side, advancing overnight and early this morning. Officials are keeping their eyes on Monday's weather, which is expected to have the combination again of high temperature, low humidity, and gusty winds. Growth potential is high.
There are multiple fire resources on the scene, including area ranchers with rigs. Resources include 3 heavy air tankers, 2 lead planes, Single Engine Air Tankers (SEATs), and helicopters. Crews did backburning along Sunny Glen Road (FM 1703); work that they reinforced with bulldozers.
Air resources are also being deployed today, but air drops won't occur if the afternoon winds gust too high.
We also spoke to Raquel Espinoza of Union Pacific Railroad. She is the Director of Corporate Relations and Media for the Southern Region of Union Pacific. She indicates rail crews are working hard to restore damaged tracks. She indicated she expected rail traffic to resume later this morning.
KRTS is also investigating reports of a fire on Blakemore Ranch on Iron Mountain north of Marathon. This is different than the Schwartz Fire, which has been burning 20 miles east of Marathon and has been burning since Saturday May 7.
11:45 AM: Bulldozers are making fire lines in the canyon in Sunny Glen. There are also three engines within Sunny Glen, working on the hot spots. And air resources continue to drop water and retardant on the active parts of the fire.