Officials said that a North Texas wildfire grew Tuesday amid hot temperatures and dry conditions. It had already destroyed at
least 12 structures. According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, the Chalk Mountain Fire, located 50 miles (80 km) southwest of
Fort Worth, was the largest Texas wildfire. It had blackened 6,000 acres (2.400 hectares), an increase of 4,000 acres (1.600 hectares).
According to the Forest Service, only 10% of the fire was contained. Crews used bulldozers to dig containment
lines, while firefighters and aircraft tried to put out the flames. On Tuesday afternoon Hood County Judge Ron Massingill directed
the mandatory evacuation in a rural area to the south of Tolar. This is approximately 45 miles (72 km) southwest Fort Worth.
Mary Leathers, Forest Service spokesperson, said that it was unclear if any of the 12 structures destroyed were homes or businesses.
Authorities said that crews were still fighting a wildfire that had destroyed at least 10 structures around a lake in North
Texas. Five of these structures were homes. Adam Turner, a Forest Service spokesperson, said that the fire at Possum
Kingdom Lake, 70 miles (113 km) west of Fort Worth had started Monday afternoon and burned approximately 500 acres (202 ha).