The Crawford Ranch Wildfire began about two miles southeast of Masterson Texas near the Moore County and Potter County line around 1340 CST. The head of the wildfire was at Farm to Market Road 152 and Farm to Market Road 1913 and consumed a measured thirty-five thousand and ninety-seven acres which was mapped using GPS.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS AMA wrote it up.
The Crawford Ranch Wildfire began about two miles southeast of Masterson Texas near the Moore County and Potter County line around 1340 CST. The head of the wildfire was at Farm to Market Road 152 and Farm to Market Road 1913 and consumed a measured thirty-five thousand and ninety-seven acres which was mapped using GPS. The wildfire was sixteen miles long and one mile wide and damaged two fire engines and an outbuilding. Six homes were evacuated and six homes were saved. Also, multiple homes in front of the fire were evacuated and multiple oil tank batteries and oil pumps were threatened. The wildfire was contained on April 10 at 0040 CST. There were initially four firefighters injured; three of the firefighters, two from the Dumas Fire Department and one from the Cactus Fire Department, were taken to the Moore County Hospital where they were treated for smoke inhalation and were in good condition. The fourth firefighter, who was with the Cactus Fire Department, sustained third degree burns over more than sixty percent of his body and was airlifted to the burn center in Lubbock Texas. He later died from his injuries on April 20 at 0300 CST. The cause of the wildfire was related to electrical lines; either sparks from the power lines or downed power lines.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 9, 12:28 PM CST, 1 hour 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
128 PM CDT SAT APR 9 2011
.UPDATE...
FORECAST PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN UPDATED MAINLY TO INCREASE TEMPERATURES
FOR THIS AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES HAVE BEEN QUICK TO RISE IN THE DRY
AIRMASS WITH GOOD DOWNSLOPE FLOW IN PLAY. HAVE BUMPED ALL AREAS UP
INTO THE MID 80S TO MID 90S. MADE SOME SMALL TWEAKS TO DEWPOINTS AND
SKY COVER...BUT OVERALL EVERYTHING ELSE LOOKS ON TRACK FOR THE
REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON. WILL LEAVE WIND ADVISORY AND RED FLAG
WARNING FOR TODAY AS IS.
KB
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 1253 PM CDT SAT APR 9 2011/
AVIATION...
18Z TAFS...STRONG WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN AVIATION CONCERN THROUGH THE
NEXT 24 HOURS. SURFACE LOW PRESSURE OVER THE CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS
WILL MAINTAIN AN ENHANCED SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS THE
PANHANDLES THIS AFTERNOON...WHILE THE MID-LEVEL GRADIENT/WINDS BEGIN
TO INCREASE AHEAD OF AN UPPER-LEVEL LOW OVER THE GREAT BASIN.
SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL STEADILY INCREASE EARLY THIS AFTERNOON AS MIXING
INCREASES...TAPPING INTO THESE STRONGER WINDS ALOFT...WITH WIND
SPEEDS INCREASING TO AROUND 30 KTS WITH GUSTS AROUND 40 KTS MID
AFTERNOON INTO EARLY THIS EVENING. WINDS WILL DIMINISH THIS
EVENING...BUT IT WILL STILL REMAIN BREEZY. WINDS WILL VEER MORE TO
THE WEST AND PICK BACK UP EARLY SUNDAY MORNING /08-09Z/ BEHIND A
PACIFIC COLD FRONT. GUSTS OVER 30 KTS WILL RETURN...WITH WINDS THEN
CONTINUING TO STRENGTHEN BY MID SUNDAY MORNING WITH SUSTAINED SPEEDS
OVER 30 KTS AND GUSTS OVER 40 KTS LIKELY. WILL MAINTAIN THE AWW FOR
THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING FOR KAMA WITH GUSTS AROUND 40 KTS
STILL EXPECTED. ANOTHER AWW MAY VERY WELL BE NEEDED FOR SUNDAY
MORNING BUT WILL NOT ISSUE JUST YET.
A STRONG LLJ WILL DEVELOP TONIGHT. CURRENT THINKING IS THAT SURFACE
WINDS WILL REMAIN STRONG ENOUGH TO KEEP LLWS BELOW MENTIONABLE LEVELS
IN THE TAFS...BUT WILL HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THIS POSSIBILITY.
OTHERWISE...VFR CONDITIONS TO PREVAIL WITH MAINLY JUST SOME HIGH
CLOUDS...ALONG WITH A PERIOD OF MID CLOUDS FROM MID EVENING INTO THE
EARLY OVERNIGHT HOURS.
KB
PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 647 AM CDT SAT APR 9 2011/
AVIATION...
DRYLINE LOCATED EAST OF THE TAF SITES THIS MORNING AS AN UPPER TROUGH
APPROACHES THE TAF SITES FROM THE GREAT BASIN REGION AND
SOUTHWESTERN STATES TODAY...AND ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
ROCKIES TONIGHT. VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL WITH MAINLY HIGH LEVEL
AND SOME MID LEVEL CLOUDINESS. SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS WILL INCREASE
TO AROUND 20 TO 30 KNOTS WITH GUSTS NEAR 35 TO 40 KNOTS
TODAY...DIMINISHING TO AROUND 10 TO 20 KNOTS WITH SOME GUSTS AFTER
02Z SUNDAY...AND THEN INCREASING AGAIN TO 15 TO 25 KNOTS WITH HIGHER
GUSTS AFTER 06Z TO 08Z SUNDAY.
SCHNEIDER
PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 437 AM CDT SAT APR 9 2011/
DISCUSSION...
MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS THIS MORNING ONCE AGAIN REVOLVE FIRE WEATHER
AND STRONG WINDS TODAY AND SUNDAY...ALONG WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF
DRYLINE CONVECTION ACROSS THE FAR EASTERN ZONES TONIGHT.
DRYLINE REMAINS PARKED NEAR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA STATE LINES THIS
MORNING...WITH LOWER 50 DEWPOINTS LOCATED IN WESTERN OKLAHOMA AND
LOWER/MIDDLE 20 DEWPOINTS IN THE CENTRAL AND MOST OF THE THE EASTERN
ZONES. TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE 40S/50S IN MOST LOCATIONS AT
DISCUSSION TIME.
FOR TODAY...POTENT UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL BEGIN TO SHIFT EASTWARD
OUT OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. LOW PRESSURE WILL STRENGTHEN
ACROSS THE EASTERN COLORADO WITH SURFACE TROUGH EXTENDING SOUTHWARD
INTO THE PANHANDLES. PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL INTENSIFY ACROSS THE
AREA THIS AFTERNOON WITH SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS INCREASING. NAM/GFS
BOTH INDICATE 500MB WINDS BETWEEN 65 AND 70 KNOTS SHIFTING EASTWARD
ACROSS THE AREA DURING AFTERNOON. LOOKING AT A FEW BUFKIT SOUNDINGS
ACROSS THE WESTERN ZONES...SHOULD BE ABLE TO MIX TO AOA 550MB BY
PEAKING HEATING. BELIEVE THESE STRONGER WINDS WILL BE ABLE TO MIX
DOWN TO THE SURFACE TO SUPPORT WIND SPEEDS BETWEEN 35 AND 40 MPH.
HAVE DECIDED TO GO WITH A WIND ADVISORY FOR TODAY ACROSS THE WESTERN
TWO STACKS OF COUNTIES. CONFIDENCE IS HIGHEST ACROSS THESE LOCATIONS
BUT THE DAY SHIFT CAN EXPAND ADVISORY EASTWARD IF CONDITIONS WARRANT.
WILL RUN THE WIND ADVISORY AT THE SAME TIME AS THE INHERITED RED FLAG
WARNING TO KEEP THINGS SIMPLE. CURRENT THINKING HAS THE STRONGEST
WINDS WHICH WOULD SUPPORT HIGH WIND WARNING STAYING TO THE WEST OVER NEW
MEXICO. TEMPERATURES TODAY SHOULD RANGE FROM THE LOWER 80S ACROSS THE
WESTERN ZONES TO LOWER 90S IN THE FAR SOUTHEAST TEXAS PANHANDLE.
THE DRYLINE ALTHOUGH CURRENTLY DRAPED ACROSS THE FAR EASTERN ZONES
SHOULD EASILY BE ABLE TO SHIFT INTO WESTERN OKLAHOMA THIS AFTERNOON.
HOWEVER...JUST LIKE LAST NIGHT...BELIEVE THE DRYLINE WILL SHIFT BACK
WESTWARD THIS EVENING. IT WILL BE A CLOSE CALL AS TO WHETHER OR NOT
IT COMPLETELY MAKES IT INTO THE EASTERN ZONES AGAIN. INHERITED LOW
END THUNDERSTORM CHANCES REMAIN VALID AS CONVERGENCE ALONG THE
DRYLINE WILL INCREASE AFTER 00Z. IF STORMS DEVELOP IN OUR EASTERN
AREAS...THEN LARGE HAIL COULD BECOME A THREAT GIVEN SUFFICIENT
INSTABILITY.
ANOTHER WINDY AND CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER DAY IS ANTICIPATED ON SUNDAY
AS WELL. UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM DRAWS EVEN CLOSER TO THE PANHANDLES WITH
MID LEVEL WINDS INCREASING EVEN MORE. BY 18Z...BOTH THE NAM AND GFS
SHOW 500 MB WINDS BETWEEN 90 AND 100 KNOTS TRAVERSING THE REGION. BUT
THE CORE 60 TO 70 KNOT 700 MB WINDS WILL BE SHIFTING OFF TO THE EAST
DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS...SO NOT OVERLY CONFIDENT WE WILL BE ABLE
TO MIX INTO STRONGER WINDS ALOFT. SO REGARDING WIND HEADLINES...THINK
EITHER A WIND ADVISORY OR PERHAPS HIGH WIND WARNING FOR PARTS OF THE
AREA WILL MOST LIKELY BE NEEDED FOR SUNDAY. MAV/MET VALUES DIFFER ON
JUST HOW STRONG THE WINDS WILL BE...WITH THE MAV BEING THE STRONGER
OF THE TWO. REGARDLESS...SUNDAY WILL BE WINDY BUT WILL CONTINUE
MENTION THE THREAT IN THE HWO BUT HOLD OFF ANY HIGH WIND WATCH FOR
THE TIME BEING DUE TO LOWER CONFIDENCE OF HWW WINDS. ALSO OF CONCERN
WILL BE THE NORTHERN FRONT MOVING THROUGH THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE
CLOSE TO 00Z. IF THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA QUICKER THAN
CURRENTLY ANTICIPATING...THEN THIS COULD HAVE IMPLICATIONS ON WIND
HEADLINES. COOLER TEMPS IN STORE SUNDAY IN WAKE OF PACIFIC FRONT
MOVING THROUGH THE REGION...BUT VERY DRY AIR ON THE ORDER OF SINGLE
DIGIT DEWPOINTS WILL FILTER INTO THE REGION WHICH WILL CONTINUE TO
SUPPORT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. GIVEN THE EXPECTED DRY
CONDITIONS FOR SUNDAY...AGREE WITH PREVIOUS SHIFT ABOUT NON
MENTIONABLE POPS FOR SUNDAY NIGHT.
LATEST MODELS AGREE ON SHORTWAVE RIDGING FOR MONDAY AND TUESDAY.
THIS WILL CONTINUE THE MOSTLY DRY CONDITIONS ACROSS OUR AREA...BUT
TEMPS WILL BOUNCE BACK INTO THE 70S AND PERHAPS 80S. LATEST RUN OF
THE EUROPEAN BEGINNING TO LOOK MORE LIKE THE THE 00Z GFS WITH
HANDLING THE MID WEEK SYSTEM. THE NEW 00Z EUROPEAN NO LONGER HAS A
CLOSED OFF LOW HANGING WEST OF THE PANHANDLES INTO LATE NEXT WEEK.
IT HAS SIDED CLOSER TO THE 00Z GFS THROUGH MID WEEK...BUT THEN
BEGINS TO DIVERGE SOME AFTER THE SYSTEM MOVES DOWNSTREAM OF THE
AREA. RETAINED THE LOW END POPS FOR WEDNESDAY/WEDNESDAY NIGHT BUT
REMOVED THEM FOR THURSDAY AS UPPER TROUGH SHIFTS EASTWARD. NO OTHER
CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE EXTENDED GRIDS ATTM.
TAB
FIRE WEATHER...
CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS ALL OF THE TEXAS
AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES TODAY. A DRYLINE WILL SHIFT INTO THE WESTERN
OKLAHOMA THIS AFTER WITH DRIER AIR LOCATED ACROSS THE PANHANDLES.
SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE BETWEEN 25 AND 35 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS
AS RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES FALL BETWEEN 8 AND 13 PERCENT. ANOTHER
DAY OF CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS IS EXPECTED ON SUNDAY AS
UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM DRAWS CLOSER TO THE PANHANDLES. SOUTHWEST TO
WEST WINDS WILL INCREASE BETWEEN 30 AND 40 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS AS
AFTERNOON HUMIDITY VALUES FALL BETWEEN 8 AND 15 PERCENT. A COLD FRONT
WILL MOVE INTO THE PANHANDLES SUNDAY NIGHT WITH WINDS SHIFTING TO THE
NORTHWEST.
TAB
&&
.AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: ARMSTRONG...CARSON...COLLINGSWORTH...DALLAM...DEAF
SMITH...DONLEY...GRAY...HANSFORD...HARTLEY...HEMPHILL...
HUTCHINSON...LIPSCOMB...MOORE...OCHILTREE...OLDHAM...
POTTER...RANDALL...ROBERTS...SHERMAN...WHEELER.
FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING
FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: ARMSTRONG...CARSON...
COLLINGSWORTH...DALLAM...DEAF SMITH...DONLEY...GRAY...
HANSFORD...HARTLEY...HEMPHILL...HUTCHINSON...LIPSCOMB...
MOORE...OCHILTREE...OLDHAM...POTTER...RANDALL...ROBERTS...
SHERMAN...WHEELER.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: DALLAM...DEAF SMITH...HARTLEY...MOORE...OLDHAM...
POTTER...RANDALL...SHERMAN.
OK...RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: BEAVER...CIMARRON...TEXAS.
FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING
FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: BEAVER...CIMARRON...TEXAS.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: CIMARRON...TEXAS.
&&
08/02HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 924 AM CDT SAT APR 9 2011 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-100045- CIMARRON-TEXAS-BEAVER-DALLAM-SHERMAN-HANSFORD-OCHILTREE-LIPSCOMB- HARTLEY-MOORE-HUTCHINSON-ROBERTS-HEMPHILL-OLDHAM-POTTER-CARSON- GRAY-WHEELER-DEAF SMITH-RANDALL-ARMSTRONG-DONLEY-COLLINGSWORTH- 924 AM CDT SAT APR 9 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS TO NEAR 50 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES TODAY. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THESE WESTERN AND CENTRAL AREAS THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. ACROSS EASTERN SECTIONS OF THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES...SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS CAN BE EXPECTED...AND THUS CAUTION IS ADVISED ON AREA LAKES TODAY INTO THIS EVENING. BLOWING DUST MAY AFFECT VISIBILITIES TODAY ACROSS ALL OF THE PANHANDLES. THE WINDY CONDITIONS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES...COMBINED WITH DRY FUELS WILL LEAD TO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ACROSS ALL OF THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING ACROSS ALL OF THE PANHANDLES. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT ACROSS THE FAR EASTERN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. IF THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP...A STORM OR TWO COULD POSSIBLY BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL BEING THE PRIMARY THREAT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. WESTERLY TO SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS WILL STRENGTHEN FURTHER ON SUNDAY ACROSS ALL OF THE PANHANDLES AND A WIND ADVISORY OR HIGH WIND WATCH MAY BE NECESSARY. BLOWING DUST MAY AFFECT VISIBILITIES SUNDAY. THE WINDY CONDITIONS...COMBINED WITH DRY CONDITIONS WILL LEAD TO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ACROSS THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. A FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL AREAS ON SUNDAY. THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT ACROSS MUCH OF THE PANHANDLES. SEVERE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. AREA FIRE MANAGERS AND EMERGENCY OFFICIALS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS TODAY AND SUNDAY. KB
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
1035 AM CDT SAT APR 09 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0630 AM HAIL STRATFORD 36.34N 102.07W
04/09/2011 E0.88 INCH SHERMAN TX TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
EVENT NUMBER AMA1100198
ERAPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
1045 AM CDT SAT APR 09 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0610 AM HAIL STRATFORD 36.34N 102.07W
04/09/2011 E0.88 INCH SHERMAN TX TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
CORRECTED EVENT TIME
EVENT NUMBER AMA1100198
ERAThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildfire, Moore | 2011-04-10 | 49 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, April 2011
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 305309.