Texas Fire Breaks Out at Federal Wildlife Refuge

A wildfire broke out at the McFadding Wildlife Refuge in Texas that serves home to a large group of alligators, ABC news reports. Some 5,000 acres of the said refuge were affected by the fire.

The Associated Press reports that firefighters and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are currently investigating the cause of the wildfire. Denise Ruffino of the McFaddin Wildlife Refuge told the Associated Press that high humidity and the presence of heavy dew up to Saturday morning would help contain the fire which still resulted in smoke near the city of Houston, which lies 45 miles west of the refuge.

ABC said that the National Weather Service has already warned Houston residents about smoke coming from the fire, which specifically occurred in High Island, Jefferson County. Residents from the Galveston and Brazonia counties were mostly affected by the smoke, which will manifest in the area for another 12 to 24 hours.  

Galveston County Office of Emergency Management had started carrying out a reverse 911 system in which they called over 15,000 resident to notify and educate them of the fire, ABC reports. The County Office also informed residents that they should only worry about the health consequences of the fire if they have respiratory problems.

In related news, NOLA.com reports the state of Louisiana is also mildly affected by Texas wildfire incidences. Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Bryan Johnston told Nola.com that smoke from Texas fires get carried away into the state, although not enough to be considered dangerous.

The website, notes, however that Louisiana ranks sixth in terms of resident count impacted by wildfire smoke, based on a study from the Natural Resources Defense Council. Texas ranks first though, with 25 million residents living with smoky air for more than a week, according to the NRDC.

Associated Press notes that no injuries or evacuations resulted from the fire. The wildlife refuge, which was established in 1980, separates the state of Texas from the Gulf of Mexico.