NPR for North Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Cause Determined in Possum Kingdom Fire

Wildfire, propelled by high winds, can burn the length of a football field in a single minute.
Wildfire, propelled by high winds, can burn the length of a football field in a single minute.

By BJ Austin, KERA News

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-965596.mp3

Dallas, TX – "Human" is the official cause of the 126 thousand acre Possum Kingdom wildfire. KERA's BJ Austin reports.

Officials classify the cause of the big fire "human", but Alexis Brooks at the fire Incident Command Post says that doesn't mean a human is directly at fault.

Brooks: It was power lines that in high winds had some arcing to them. You know it's not an intentional human-caused fire, but it's still due to human causes basically.

Brooks says it was so dry a spark from the arcing lines set off the April 13th fire.

The P-K fire is 80% contained, and residents are returning after more than a week of evacuation. But Brooks says there's still no power in several hard-hit subdivisions. Many of the utility poles burned.

Brooks: I wish I had a number as to how many of those poles they have to replace. I'm guessing it's probably going to be in the thousands.

Email BJ Austin