Bear Creek fire still fresh in minds of Cass County

By Ben Woods 
bwoods@casscountynow.com

CASS COUNTY-- Considered one of the worst wildfires in East Texas history, the Bear Creek Fire began five years ago around noon on Sept. 4, 2011 during Labor Day weekend. Cass and Marion County had never experienced a wildfire of this magnitude.
The origin of the fire was approximately four miles southwest of Linden in the Bear Creek community. It soon spread quickly due to the drought conditions in the local area. As the fire grew the following day, an incident command center was set up at Linden-Kildare CISD’s W.A. Walker Administration Building. Atlanta Fire Department’s Chief Robin Betts served as the incident commander and coordinator during this time.
It took fire crews five days to get the wildfire under control, which according to Texas Forestry Service burned 41,050 acres of land. The fire burned for 55 days before being completely extinguished. This forced L-K CISD to shut down the school for three days while the firefighters battled the enormous wildfire. This historic event also affected students in Jefferson and Avinger, as well.
The tragic wildfire forced 200 homes to be evacuated of which 66 homes and thousands of acres of property burned, much of it privately owned. As the wildfire grew, officials shut down parts of Lake O’ the Pines in order not to put anyone on the lake in danger while airplanes and helicopters were allowed to refill their water tanks. 
Aid comes from many areas
An overwhelming amount of support during this time of need came from across Texas and surrounding states to help during the wildfire. Food, supplies, and donations were sent along with volunteers and firefighters to help battle the raging fire. 
Officials said both counties came together as one to coordinate the efforts to battle the fire, as well as care for the evacuees and displaced animals.  
“It was amazing how the people came together to support the firefighters during this terrible time, all of the churches opened their doors for fire fighters and residents that were displaced,” Johnny Duncan, Center Hill Assistant Fire Chief, said. 
As people fled the wildfires in Cass and Marion counties, many were forced to leave their animals behind, but their pets and livestock were not forgotten. A Linden feed store accepted donations to help livestock and strays.
Bear Creek today
The area where the fire occurred has changed drastically in the past five years. New trees have grown and most of the charred trees are no longer there. Both desirable and undesirable vegetation and wildlife have found a home in the area where the fire took place.     
When recalling the Bear Creek fire Lee McNeely, Texas Forest Service urban wildlife specialist said, “We must remember the conditions of that day.” Tropical Storm Lee made its pass through East Texas resulting in numerous fires in Texas including Bastrop County, where fire destroyed more than 1,600 homes, the most destructive fire in Texas history and third worst in U.S. history. McNeely also said it is important to note Bear Creek was just one of the many fires that occurred at the same time.
2011: A record year
2011 was one of the worst years for wildfires in Texas. There were a series of wildfires which burned a total of about 4,000,000 acres and there was a total of 31,453 fires. Timber lost to drought and wildfire could have produced $1.6 billion worth of products resulting in a $3.4 billion impact on East Texas. The wildfires in Texas accounted for 47 percent of all the fires in the United States in 2011.
Editor’s Note: Angela Guillory contributed to this story