Wildfire, Bowie
- When
- October 7, 12:00 PM CST to October 8, 10:00 PM CST
- Where
- Bowie forecast zone
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 33.446, -94.423 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Texas, October 7 to 8, 2011
Very breezy conditions, warm temperatures and low humidity values were the ingredients needed for the rapid spread of a wildfire in Bowie County, Texas near the town of Dekalb. The fire was reportedly started by the use of a cutting torch near a heavily wooded area near Hwy.
Where it happened
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.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS SHV wrote it up.
Very breezy conditions, warm temperatures and low humidity values were the ingredients needed for the rapid spread of a wildfire in Bowie County, Texas near the town of Dekalb. The fire was reportedly started by the use of a cutting torch near a heavily wooded area near Hwy. 259 and C.R. 2735. Strong winds caused the fire to spread rapidly with near 1000 acres of timberland and grassland consumed. Ten separate fire departments were called in to battle the blaze. There were reports of injuries to Texas Forest Service personnel who were burned while battling the fire.
What forecasters said that day
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 Shreveport, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 7, 9:52 AM CST, 2 hours 8 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Oct 7, 9:52 AM CST, 2 hours 8 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA 1052 AM CDT FRI OCT 7 2011 .DISCUSSION... DRY AIR WITH SOME LOW LVL MOISTURE ACROSS WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FRINGES OF CWA. LEAVE THESE AREAS AS PARTLY CLOUDY THIS AFTN...HOWEVER... CHANGING REMAINDER OF AREA TO MOSTLY SUNNY. ALSO ADJUSTED WIND SPEEDS WITH SHORT TERM MODEL DATA...AS CURRENT TRENDS INDICATE STRONGER GUSTS FROM SE ACROSS WESTERN CWA. 10 AM TEMPS IN MID TO UPPER 70S...EXPECTED TO REACH UPPER 80S TO AROUND 90. THUS...NO ADJUSTMENT NEEDED FOR TEMPS./VII/. && .AVIATION... VFR FLIGHT CATEGORIES EXPECTED FOR THE TERMINAL FORECAST PERIOD. RETURN GULF MOISTURE SPREADING INTO TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA IN THE GRADIENT BETWEEN HIGH PRESSURE TO THE EAST AND LOW PRESSURE OVER WEST TEXAS AND INTO THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES. MAY SEE THE CLOUDS AFFECT EAST TEXAS DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING AROUND 4 KFT. MVFR CEILINGS BETWEEN 15 HND TO 25 HND FEET JUST WEST OF THE FOUR STATE REGION BUT WILL KEEP FROM MENTION IN THE TERMINAL FORECAST AT THIS TIME. WITH A CONTINUED FLOW OF GULF MOISTURE INTO TEXAS ON SATURDAY THERE MAY BE SOME MVFR CEILINGS MIX INTO THE MAINLY VFR CEILINGS AROUND 5 KFT AT THE KTYR...KGGG...AND KLFK TERMINALS. SOUTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS WITH HIGHER GUSTS TO 20 KNOTS EXPECTED UNTIL AROUND 08/00 UTC...WHEN SPEEDS DROP TO 4 TO 8 KNOTS. FOR SATURDAY AROUND 08/14 UTC THE WINDS INCREASE TO 10 TO 15 KNOTS WITH HIGHER GUSTS TO NEAR 20 KNOTS. /06/ .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... SHV 90 65 90 65 87 / 10 10 10 10 10 MLU 88 60 89 63 88 / 10 10 10 10 10 DEQ 88 59 87 60 85 / 10 10 10 10 10 TXK 89 62 88 64 84 / 10 10 10 10 10 ELD 88 59 88 62 85 / 10 10 10 10 10 TYR 91 68 90 67 86 / 10 10 10 10 10 GGG 91 67 90 65 86 / 10 10 10 10 10 LFK 92 67 88 65 88 / 10 10 10 10 10 && .SHV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. LA...NONE. OK...NONE. TX...NONE. &&
Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 7, 11:13 AM CST, 47 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA 1213 PM CDT FRI OCT 7 2011 OKZ077-TXZ096-097-108>112-124>126-136>138-149>153-165>167-081100- ANGELINA-BOWIE-CAMP-CASS-CHEROKEE-FRANKLIN-GREGG-HARRISON-MARION- MCCURTAIN-MORRIS-NACOGDOCHES-PANOLA-RED RIVER TX-RUSK-SABINE TX- SAN AUGUSTINE-SHELBY-SMITH-TITUS-UPSHUR-WOOD- 1213 PM CDT FRI OCT 7 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA...EAST TEXAS AND NORTHEAST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... SOUTHEAST WINDS TODAY WILL RANGE FROM 10 TO 15 MPH WITH SOME GUSTS TOWARDS 25 MPH THIS AFTERNOON. IN ADDITION...WE ARE AGAIN EXPECTING LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY DURING THE AFTERNOON IN THE 30 TO 40 PERCENT RANGE. THESE FACTORS WILL COMBINE WITH THE ONGOING DROUGHT CONDITIONS TO ENHANCE THE FIRE DANGER ACROSS THE AREA. REPORT ANY SORT OF FIRE TO 9 1 1 IMMEDIATELY. NO OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST INTO THE WEEKEND BUT WILL IMPROVE FOR NEXT WEEK AS LIGHTER WINDS...HIGHER RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS RETURN TO THE AREA. NO OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. ARZ050-051-059>061-070>073-LAZ001>006-010>014-017>022-081100- BIENVILLE-BOSSIER-CADDO-CALDWELL-CLAIBORNE-COLUMBIA-DE SOTO-GRANT- HEMPSTEAD-HOWARD-JACKSON-LA SALLE-LAFAYETTE-LINCOLN-LITTLE RIVER- MILLER-NATCHITOCHES-NEVADA-OUACHITA-RED RIVER LA-SABINE LA-SEVIER- UNION AR-UNION LA-WEBSTER-WINN- 1213 PM CDT FRI OCT 7 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARKANSAS...SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS...NORTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA AND NORTHWEST LOUISIANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL SLOWLY EDGE INTO THE AREA FOR THE EARLY AND MIDDLE PART OF NEXT WEEK AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. VII
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Wildfire
- A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Strong Wind in Arkansas, October 7, 2011
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, October 7 to 10, 2011
- Tornado and Coastal Flood in Florida, October 7 to 10, 2011
- Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, October 7 to 8, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, October 7 to 8, 2011
- High Wind in North Dakota, October 7, 2011
- High Wind in South Dakota, October 7, 2011
- High Wind in Iowa, October 7, 2011
- High Wind in North Dakota, October 7, 2011
- High Wind in South Dakota, October 7, 2011
- High Wind in Minnesota, October 7, 2011
- Flash Flood and Flooding in Kansas, October 7 to 8, 2011
More
Every storm in Texas in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, October 2011
Sources
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: 341760.