Power Outage in Shamrock, TX

Power lines were reported down in Shamrock.

Three snapped wood power poles found on damage survey. Estimated wind speeds of 100 mph.

Eight wood power poles broken/snapped. Estimated wind speeds of 100 mph.

The Britt fire was caused by downed power lines. The fire started just north of Kelton by the crossroad of Highway 152 and FM592. The fire did cross Hwy 152 into Oklahoma. Rural residents in Kelton were asked to evacuate as a precaution. The fire burned an estimated 8,152 acres.

A combination sleet and freezing rain led to light ice accumulations which caused hazardous driving conditions the morning of Monday, October 26th. There was one fatality associated with a one-car accident on I-40 about 10 miles west of Shamrock that was partly attributed to poor driving conditions. The area saw additional winter weather impacts with sleet accumulations of half an inch to three quarters of an inch on roadways during the morning of the 27th. Freezing rain fell again for several hours during the evening of the 27th leading to ice accumulations of half an inch to three quarters of an inch. The higher amounts of ice were located in the northwest quarter of the county. This amount of ice lead to widespread tree and power pole damage with widespread power outages.

Brief tornado touched down and caused tree damage and damage to a powerline off of County Road 9 in rural Wheeler County.

Also reported that winds of less than fifty knots caused tree limb damage in the town of Shamrock along with power outages and that the heavy rainfall resulted in brief ponding of water on roadways.

No injuries were reported. The tornado severely damaged several homes and outbuildings...uprooted or snapped large trees...and knocked down powerlines. The tornado crossed the Oklahoma and Texas state line along State Highway 152...fifteen miles east of the town of Wheeler.

The Carbon Wildfire began around 1100CST about six miles east of Shamrock Texas in Wheeler County. The cause of the wildfire was downed power lines and the wildfire consumed twelve thousand five hundred and thirty acres. There was a report of three homes and five other structure threatened by the wildfire. There was one home and one other structure that were reported destroyed. There were no reports of any injuries or fatalities, however there were three near misses. The Texas A&M Forest Service responded to the wildfire which was contained around 1200CST on April 17.

The I-40 Wildfire began around 1102CST about seven miles west of Lela Texas in Wheeler county. The wildfire consumed fifteen thousand one hundred and seventy-four acres and was caused by downed power lines. There were reported to be twenty-five homes and five other structures that were saved, however five homes and fifteen other structures were destroyed by the wildfire. There were fifteen near misses but no injuries or fatalities were reported. One Texas Forest Service task force and fire supervisors were assigned to this wildfire with an additional task force arriving later. There were a total of sixteen fire departments and other fire agencies including the Texas Forest Service that responded to the wildfire. The wildfire was finally contained approximately 0800CST on March 25.