GLEN ROSE, Texas — Wednesday will mark one week since the Austin Fire Department's deployment to the Chalk Mountain Fire burning southwest of Fort Worth near Glen Rose.
Engine 432 could stay in the area for longer due to Texas' high wildfire risk.
“We continue to mop up and patrol the fire perimeter," Captain David Mechem said in a statement. "We patrol around structures, addressing hotspots located in heavy brush, locating and extinguishing flareups, supporting hand crews with any water supply needs, and bucking downed trees threatening the green areas of the fire."
PHOTOS: Austin Fire Department assists at North Texas Chalk Mountain Fire
According to a page about the fire in the Incident Information System, the fire began July 18 and stands at 20% containment. A little over 6,700 acres have burned so far.
KVUE's sister station WFAA reported that 16 homes have been destroyed, but there are no casualties.
The Austin Airtanker Base at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is also helping wildfire efforts. Its retardant is currently at maximum capacity thanks to four newly received loads, and they dropped some in Williamson County.
The fire department added that the airtanker base is also dealing with staffing crisis of sorts due to COVID-19 cases among staff members there, and everyone is working hard to stay isolated as qualified resources take precautions to keep the base open.
PHOTOS: Austin Fire Department Air Tanker Base at Austin airport
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