A special legislative committee is investigating what caused the Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest in state history.
New Insider Deals are here, and you’re going to love them!Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Chief Wes Moorehead, left, Director of Texas A&M Forest Service Al Davis, and Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management Nim Kidd, sit before a House Committee investigating the Panhandle wildfires Tuesday in Pampa.— a weekly dispatch about the people, places and policies defining Texas, produced by Texas Tribune journalists living in communities across the state.
Pampa is a town of about16,000. In Gray County, it is closer to Oklahoma than the Texas Capitol. Lawmakers decided to hold the hearings in the town an hour northeast of Amarillo, making it easier for victims of the fire to attend.“This is not a Panhandle problem. This will have statewide effects,” King, the committee's chair, told the mixed crowd of suits and cowboy hats. “We must do what we can to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
Without its own fleet of aircraft to fight fires, Texas relies on a series of contractors. Many of the planes were being serviced at the time the fires started in late Feburary.Kidd suggested Texas build its own firefighting air force with up to six aircrafts, costing at least $50 million. “I am asking if we are sure we want Texas to be in charge of this because we have seen these guys in action. They do not have a good reputation,” he said.
Officials said communication between the agencies was fractured due to different radio frequencies between volunteer fire departments and state agencies, as well as a lack of command. Kidd, who is also a vice chancellor at Texas A&M, defended the state’s response. And warned the committee to be careful how they word these statements during the meeting.
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