Texas A&M Forest Service said Sunday it is responding to firefighting assistance in Crittenburg, Coryell County. The fire, near the town of Flat and about ten minutes south of Gatesville, has burned about 10,000 acres and is zero percent limited, the Texas A&M Forest Service said. Flat residents told KWTX they had received a compulsory evacuation order. The message, sent to mobile devices, states, “Mandatory evacuations for all of Flat Texas at this time. “Emergency management advises you to head east.” The fire alarmed residents in Gatesville, Texas, where the Gatesville Police Department reassured its community in a Facebook post that “Gatesville and Fort Gates are not being evacuated at this time.” “The fires around us are at Fort Hood base, Comanche County and Bosque County. “Please do not call the police station and ask,” the department said. “If there are alerts for sending to a larger population, we will use CODE RED and social media platforms as well as staff to make the announcements.” Gatesville police said its hotlines were flooded with calls asking for evacuations, preventing its communications officers from working on other emergency calls. Police said the Gatesville Civic Center and the New Oasis Worship Center at 608 E Leon Street are both open to firefighters from nearby communities. In Bosque County, the Bosque River fire has burned about 500 acres and is zero percent limited, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. The fire is near the Bosque River, just north of Highway 6, in the area between Iredell and Walnut Springs. According to Bosque County Emergency Management, the fire “is still actively moving toward the Bosque River from Highway 6.” He said many resources are fighting the fire south of the river and many are also at 927 to stop the fire if it jumps into the river. “We are ready to send evacuation alerts if needed, but the area is sparsely populated. “Firefighters and law enforcement are handling the evacuations in person,” said Bosque County Emergency Management. KWTX is working to learn more about the fire in Comanche County. Copyright 2022 KWTX. All rights reserved.
