Wildfire, Dickens
- When
- January 29, 3:05 PM CST to January 30, 2:00 AM CST
- Where
- Dickens forecast zone
- Property damage
- $2,000
- Reported by
- Fire Department/Rescue
- Coordinates
- 33.617, -100.779 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Texas, January 29 to 30, 2016
Very windy, dry, and unseasonably warm conditions helped fuel the spread of a wildfire this afternoon about five miles north-northwest of Dickens (Dickens County). Volunteer fire crews from Dickens, McAdoo, and Spur helped combat the fire through the early overnight hours of the 30th and prevented it from jumping US Highway 70.
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
- $2,000
- 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 LUB wrote it up.
Very windy, dry, and unseasonably warm conditions helped fuel the spread of a wildfire this afternoon about five miles north-northwest of Dickens (Dickens County). Volunteer fire crews from Dickens, McAdoo, and Spur helped combat the fire through the early overnight hours of the 30th and prevented it from jumping US Highway 70. This fire consumed around 150 acres of open ranch land including one power pole and a section of utility line. The subsequent power outage affected all residents of Spur, McAdoo, and Dickens for about two hours.
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 Lubbock, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 29, 12:27 PM CST, 2 hours 38 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 29, 12:27 PM CST, 2 hours 38 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 1227 PM CST FRI JAN 29 2016 .UPDATE... UPDATED TO BOOST HIGH TEMPS 3-6 DEGREES TODAY AND ALSO TO LOWER DEWPOINTS AREA WIDE TO BETTER MATCH OBSERVED TRENDS. SOME BLOWING DUST RECENTLY OBSERVED AT LUBBOCK AIRPORT IS NOT EXPECTED TO WORSEN AS WINDS SHOULD HOLD IN THE 15-25 MPH RANGE. LASTLY...THE INHERITED FIRE DANGER STATEMENT FOR THE WESTERN HALF OF THE CWA HAS BEEN EXPANDED AREA WIDE FOR AFOREMENTIONED FACTORS. A COUPLE AREAS WILL LIKELY MEET CRITICAL/RED FLAG THRESHOLDS MAINLY ALONG/NEAR A DORA-PLAINVIEW LINE WHERE THE STRONGEST WINDS AND LOWEST RH VALUES ARE EXPECTED...BUT THIS SHOULD BE THE EXCEPTION AS WINDS OUTSIDE OF THIS CORRIDOR LOOK TO REMAIN TOO MARGINAL FOR 3-HOUR CRITICAL CONDITIONS. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 1122 AM CST FRI JAN 29 2016/ AVIATION... CONTINUED VFR WITH W-SW GUSTS AROUND 30 KNOTS THIS AFTERNOON...TAPERING BY SUNSET...BEFORE RESUMING SAT AFTN. && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FIRE WEATHER WATCH SATURDAY AFTERNOON FOR TXZ021>023-027>029- 033>035-039>041. && 93
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 29, 12:31 PM CST, 2 hours 34 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 1231 PM CST FRI JAN 29 2016 TXZ021>044-301845- PARMER-CASTRO-SWISHER-BRISCOE-HALL-CHILDRESS-BAILEY-LAMB-HALE- FLOYD-MOTLEY-COTTLE-COCHRAN-HOCKLEY-LUBBOCK-CROSBY-DICKENS-KING- YOAKUM-TERRY-LYNN-GARZA-KENT-STONEWALL- 1231 PM CST FRI JAN 29 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTH PLAINS...ROLLING PLAINS AND THE FAR SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL IMPACT ALL OF THE OUTLOOK AREA TODAY BEFORE WINDS SUBSIDE THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY ELEVATED TO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER IS LIKELY SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND AGAIN ON SUNDAY...FAVORING AREAS ON THE CAPROCK. A FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS IN EFFECT SATURDAY AFTERNOON FOR AREAS ON THE CAPROCK. A POWERFUL STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO CROSS THE PANHANDLE LATE MONDAY...LEADING TO STRONG WINDS FROM 30 TO 40 MPH AND AREAS OF BLOWING DUST LATE IN THE DAY...AGAIN MAINLY ON THE CAPROCK.
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
- Winter Storm and Avalanche in Utah, January 29 to 31, 2016
- High Wind in Wyoming, January 29 to 30, 2016
- Heavy Snow and High Wind in California, January 29 to 31, 2016
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, January 29 to 30, 2016
- Frost and Freeze in Texas, January 29, 2016
- Winter Weather in West Virginia, January 29, 2016
- Winter Weather in Nevada, January 29, 2016
- High Wind in Nevada, January 29, 2016
- Heavy Snow in Nevada, January 29 to 30, 2016
- Winter Weather in Virginia, January 29, 2016
- Avalanche in Oregon, January 29, 2016
More
Every storm in Texas in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, January 2016
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: 610126.