PITTSBURG, Texas (KLTV) – According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, hundreds of firefighters have been deployed to Palo Pinto and Jack Counties to fight the Ross fire. And one of those firefighters is the Mayor of Pittsburg.
The Texas A&M Forest Service released this morning that the Ross fire has burned 90 thousand 400 acres and is 38 percent contained. Inside the Ross Fire command post Pittsburg Mayor David Abernathy has a different title: Deputy Operations Section Chief.
Pittsburg mayor doubles as wildfire commander at Ross fire in North-Central Texas(KLTV)
“There’s a system called the instant command system, instant management system that most all response agencies throughout the United States have adopted; been using since the 1970s,” Abernathy said.
Using the system, the team dispatches firefighters and equipment where they are needed.
“We have firefighting resources from all over the United States and they generally all work on about a fourteen-day assignment,” Abernathy said.
Pittsburg mayor doubles as wildfire commander at Ross fire in North-Central Texas(KLTV)
He says it can go up to 21 days if called for. Command also helps organize replacement crews which can come from much of the U.S.
“Fire season in the United States basically run in a counterclockwise manner. So, when some states don’t have wildland fires, others are in the peak of theirs and so we share resources across state lines,” Abernathy said.
But because Texas is geographically diverse and, well, huge it:
“Has more federally declared disasters than the next four states combined. So, we’re used to it. I’ve gone from drought related wildfire to floods back to drought related wildfires in the same two- or three-week period,” Abernathy said.
Pittsburg mayor doubles as wildfire commander at Ross fire in North-Central Texas(KLTV)
So, when he’s called, he goes. And somehow still finds time to be the Mayor of Pittsburg, but for now:
“We’ll be here for a while. We still have some more pockets in there that did not burn and we’re having to deal with them,” Abernathy said.
The Ross Fire started on August 24. The forest service tells us 157 structures were destroyed which includes 18 homes. Two minor firefighter injuries were reported. They were treated at the scene. Crews will remain in place until the fire is out.
Pittsburg mayor doubles as wildfire commander at Ross fire in North-Central Texas(KLTV)
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