At the request of Hemphill County Judge Lisa Johnson, Gilbert Dominguez—Fire Coordinator for the
Red River Task Force and Childress Fire District—offered the following summary of the resources that have been staging in this community for the last few months:

Texas uses a tiered wildfire response system in which local fire departments and counties serve as the first responders, with state support activated when fires exceed local capabilities. Texas A&M Forest Service is the state’s lead agency for Emergency Support Function 4 (ESF4) Firefighting, managing wildfire operations under the direction of TDEM and the Governor. 

With more than 1,842 fire departments statewide, local responders form the foundation of Texas wildfire protection, and our agency works in unified command to support local authority. 

As the state’s lead wildland firefighting agency, Texas A&M Forest Service mobilizes firefighters, engines, heavy equipment, and aircraft to support local responders and deliver additional suppression capacity anywhere in Texas. When additional in-state resources are needed, trained Texas firefighters are mobilized under state jurisdiction as part of the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) to provide surge capacity specifically to assist and reinforce local fire departments on the ground. 

If statewide conditions intensify further, the state may request out of state wildland firefighters through established federal agreements; these resources deploy only at the request of the State of Texas and operate under state authority, with the mission of supporting local responders. As wildfire complexity increases, this approach ensures communities receive timely, effective, and safe wildfire suppression, protecting lives, property, and natural resources.