As of Monday afternoon, it was 70% contained and had burned 3,000 acres. It started Saturday during a training mission at the military base on the far north side.
SAN ANTONIO — As of Monday at 12:45 p.m., the huge wildfire that’s been burning for three days at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis on the far north side is 70% contained, officials said. Also, there were no additional flare-ups or growth reported overnight.
“No further evacuations to the local communities are expected. As of today, an estimated 3,000 acres have burned. The area did get some rain overnight and the extra humidity is very helpful with containment operations. The cause of the fire is under investigation,” JBSA said in a news release.
Two neighborhoods near the massive brush fire – Oak Ridge and Georg Oaks – along Ammann Road were asked to evacuate as a precaution on Saturday night.
Those families were allowed to stay at Spring Branch Middle School in Comal County, but those evacuation notices have since been lifted.
The blaze started around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday in the demolition range area, which is an active training area on the military base, officials said.
Although JBSA initially said 4,000 acres were affected, that estimate was corrected, officials shared in an update around 12:15 p.m. on Sunday.
In a news conference Sunday afternoon, multiple agencies said they’re confident the fire will not jump the border of the military base.
It’s one of almost two dozen fires affecting Texas. According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, dry conditions are causing problems across the state.
“Yesterday (Saturday), Texas A&M Forest Service responded to 20 wildfires for 4,069 acres burned. The fire environment today/Mon. will support large wildfires in the High Plains, S. Plains, Western Hill Country, Rolling Plains where extremely dry vegetation, critical fire weather is present,” the organization said on Twitter.
Multiple agencies are working to get the fire under control. They’ve had aircraft dropping water/retardant to help secure portions of the fire. They’ve also been working on “tactical firing operations” to secure the fireline, officials said.
