Local fire danger remains high as National Weather Service issues excessive heat warning for Stephens County

August 18

17:59 2024

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Stephens County is under an Excessive Heat Warning issued by the National Weather Service as high temperatures over the next few days are expected to reach 108 degrees on Tuesday, with Monday’s and Wednesday’s highs predicted to be 106. Additionally, the low amount of rain over the past two months has prompted an advisory from the Texas Forest Service that “fire managers should be prepared to support periods of more frequent fire occurrences as well as complex, long duration incidents.”

The high temperatures, combined with the humidity level, will lead to a heat index up to 112 degrees over the next week. The heat index is what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature, similar to the “wind chill” numbers that are reported during the winter.

The temperature at the Stephens County Airport today, Sunday, Aug. 18, reached the predicted high of 106 at about 2:30 this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. The overnight low is supposed to be about 78 degrees.

On Monday, Aug. 19, the high is forecast at 106 with an overnight low of 79; Tuesday’s high could hit 108 with an overnight low of 78; Wednesday’s high is predicted at 106 with an overnight low of 78. Thursday’s and Friday’s highs are forecast at 105 and 104, respectively. Next weekend, Saturday’s high is predicted at 101 and Sunday at 100.

Heat-related Illnesses

The warning from the NWS states that the extreme heat and humidity will significantly increase the potential for heat related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities.

Everyone in the area is advised to:

Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Do not leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles.

Take extra precautions when outside. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing. Try to limit strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Take action when you see symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9-1-1.

Stephens Memorial Hospital recently posted symptoms and treatments for heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Heat Exhaustion

Heat exhaustion is the body’s response to an excessive loss of water and salt, usually through excessive sweating.

Symptoms

Heavy sweating
Cold, pale, clammy skin
Fast, weak pulse
Nausea and vomiting
Muscle cramps
Tiredness or weakness
Dizziness or fainting
Headache
Excessive thirst
Elevated body temperature
Decreased urine output

What to do

Move the person to a cool place
Loosen the person’s clothes
Put cool wet cloths on the person’s body; if possible, have them take a cool bath
Encourage frequent sips of cool water.
Call 911 if symptoms worsen, last over an hour or if the person starts vomiting

Heat Stroke

Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related illness. It occurs when the body can no longer control its temperature: the body’s temperature rises rapidly, the sweating mechanism fails, and the body is unable to cool down. When heat stroke occurs, the body temperature can rise to 106°F or higher within 10 to 15 minutes. Heat stroke can cause permanent disability or death if the person does not receive emergency treatment, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Symptoms

Very high body temperature of 103 or higher
Hot, red, dry skin and no sweating; however, if the person has been exercising, they may have profuse sweating at the beginning of a heat stroke.
Fast, strong pulse
Headache
Dizziness
Nausea/vomiting
Confusion, altered mental status, slurred speech
Loss of consciousness (coma)
Seizures

What to do

Call 9-1-1
Move the person to a cooler place
Help lower the person’s temperature with cool cloths or a cool bath
Do not give the person anything to drink; let the medical professionals treat them when they arrive.

Fire Danger

According to an advisory notice issued by the Texas A&M Forest Service in coordination with the Southern Area Coordination Center, the Rolling Plains region of Texas, which includes Stephens County, can expect an increased volume of wildfires through the end of August. Additionally, according to the advisory, the juniper and oak trees, along with dry grass, will create wildfires that are resistant to control.

The early growing season with above normal rainfall, followed by less than 25 percent of normal precipitation over the last 60 days, has resulted in grass production more than 150% above normal across Northwest Texas. Typical barriers to fire spread like roadways, rivers, and hardwood river bottoms cannot be relied upon to stop fire progression, and firefighters should plan to construct wider than normal control lines with dozers and graders.

The Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) for Stephens County today, Aug. 18, ranges from 563 to 666 for an average of 622. According to the Forest Service, a KBDI of 600-800 is “often associated with more severe drought with increased wildfire occurrence. Intense, deep-burning fires with extreme intensities can be expected. Live fuels can also be expected to burn actively at these levels.”

According to the Texas Weather Connection website, the KBDI “is based on a daily water balance, where a drought factor is balanced with precipitation and soil moisture (assumed to have a maximum storage capacity of 8-inches) and is expressed in hundredths of an inch of soil moisture depletion. The drought index ranges from 0 to 800, where a drought index of 0 represents no moisture depletion, and an index of 800 represents absolutely dry conditions. Presently, this index is derived from ground based estimates of temperature and precipitation derived from weather stations and interpolated manually by experts at Texas A&M Forest Service (TAMFS) for counties across the state.”

Breckenridge firefighter Jose Garcia puts out the flames of a wildfire near Hubbard Creek Lake on Monday, Aug. 12. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)