FORT DAVIS - More than 100,00 acres later, fire crews in Jeff Davis County say they finally have a handle on the rockhouse fire, but they're not out of the woods yet.
With a little help from mother nature, the 150 plus firefighters were able to turn the tide on the Rock House fire Tuesday, taking it from 40 percent to 60 percent contained. The winds have died down from 40 mph to 20 mph they went from the southwest to the northeast, so it blew the fire back on itself and prevented further spread to the north.
The view from one of the areas first affected, shows not only the extent of the damage and what was spared, but also what is still a very dangerous threat. The fire operations Tuesday were focused on a line of fire between Star Mountain and Casket Mountain, to the north. There's a line of fire about 22 miles long, there, which is burning.
Although they haven't put a dollar amount on the damage caused by the Rock House fire, county officials say they were lucky. The end result could have been much worse. Now, it's a matter of picking up from this point and moving forward.
Fire officials are pleased with the progress on all fronts. However, they aren't ready to say when the Rock House fire will be fully and completely under control.
