TYLER (KYTX) -- An East Texas non-profit pitches in to help the firefighters in West Texas. About a dozen East Texas fire fighters are in West Texas right now, and more are getting ready to head out.
The Salvation Army has been on the scene since the fires first broke out. Now several weeks into battling multiple blazes, several hundred thousand acres have burned, and that number is growing.
The largest fire, near Fort Davis, has passed 200,000 acres.
Texas' Salvation Army has 14 mobile canteen units stationed throughout the area. Those came from the Tyler area, as well as Dallas, Austin and Midland-Odessa. So far they've served nearly 11,000 meals to the firefighters who came from 34 states to fight those fires, not to mention the people who lost their homes in recent weeks.
The Salvation Army says there was no question. Once the fires broke out, they needed to send help.
"They don't have to worry about food, stuff to drink, stuff to keep them hydrated." Captain Ben Lawrence said. "It's just one less thing that they have to worry about because, believe me, they have plenty on their plate in times like these."
There are still two major fires threatening West Texans.
A 160-acre blaze in Coke County is at a point where firefighters are just trying to stop any new flares. The one near Fort Davis is being allowed to burn to a trench cut by the Texas Forest Service.
West Texas is looking at a small chance of rain Thursday night and again this weekend. They're hoping the humidity that comes with those rain clouds is enough to slow the fires down a little bit.
