By Jamey Boyum
MARION/CASS COUNTY, TX (KLTV) - More than 200 people are still being kept out of their homes thanks to a massive fire that started in Cass County and has spread into Marion County.
The fire has grown to more than 30,000 acres, going from CR 1626 all the way to Hwy 49, where it jumped the road.
The wind lightened up Tuesday, but not enough. Five to ten mile an hour gusts fanned the fire and it spread, burning four houses and causing many evacuations. DPS blocked some roads while others were blocked by thick smoke.
"It's just chaos. It's terrible in there. There's four homes that have been lost already on that road. So, it's something that I don't ever want to deal with again," said Terry Richardson, an evacuee.
The fire jumped highway 49 in Marion County and burned hundreds of bales of hay. The fire is so large firefighters are taking help from anyone who can do it safely.
"People are willing to donate their time and their equipment to help with the blaze and I'm very fortunate with that. Knowing that they don't have the training but they do what they can to help us out and we don't bat an eye on that, " said Terry Richardson of the Forest Service.
Well, I had a little fire fighting device and someone decided to jump over it and broke the fitting so, now we're out a fire fighting tool.But, the hardware store ain't far, " said Bruce Bradley who was lending a hand.
Helicopters and planes were used to stop the fire from burning more homes. Although they were successful at that, they couldn't stop the wildfire from crossing the road again.. The smoke caused intermittent road closures until mid-afternoon when the road was shut down completely until it becomes clear enough to see.
The forest service says even the canopies of the trees are dry, which causes larger more intense flames, adding to the problem.
The Forest Service says the bear creek fire is not contained, and it's the largest active fire in Texas.
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