Office of Emergency Management Asking for Donations - Fort Worth, TX

Due to wild fires being caused by severe winds and low humidity all across North Texas a community message was issued April 20 by the Tarrant County Office of Emergency Management and donations can be made to the American Red Cross and Salvation Army for firefighters in those areas. (Source: City of Fort Worth).

"Tarrant County residents who want to support emergency workers fighting fires in North Texas, should make a monetary donations to the American Red Cross and Salvation Army," said Tarrant County Emergency Coordinator Melisa Patterson in an email. "These organizations are feeding and sheltering the thousands of heroic men and women who are working day and night to protect lives and property."

Donations of items like food, water bottles, and sports drinks are being discouraged because the county does not have an established method of collecting and delivering them to the firefighters, according to the email.

For full details, go to https://local.nixle.com/alert/4680932/?sub_id=45365.

For more information, contact Courtney Mitchell at 817-884-2850 or camitchell@tarrantcounty.com.
Gerald, who plays music at a church in Breckenridge, TX, said he was nervous this past Sunday as he was driving at 7 a.m. and passed the wild fires licking the sides of the road. He spotted homes where people had decided to stick it out and wondered if he'd have to go home after the church service a different route.

"Sure enough, I had to," he said.

At one point during the service, the organ had a glitch and he was afraid he was going to have to make an appointment with an organ specialist and drive back through the fires to meet him.
People reported on the news that they could smell the fires through neighborhoods far away, one fire from a rancher's home that was nowhere near a TCU area but the reach was far and wide.

One volunteer firefighter, Gregory Mack Simmons was killed in one of the fires last week and nearly 1,000 people attended his funeral yesterday, the same day another firefighter was killed in another wildfire, according to msn.com.

The windstorms blamed for the start of the wildfires to begin with have been so heavy that at Fort Worth Relay for Life Friday night, the wind was so bad tents had to be held down through various means and the local Main Street Arts Festival downtown last weekend had to have many tents secured in numerous ways due to the strength and gusts of the wind speed.

It was the driest March in Texas since 1895, according to msnbc.com.