Wildfire in Walker County lessens to 4,254 acres and is 40% contained, according to officials

WALKER COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A fire that spread rapidly on Friday evening well into Saturday morning near north Huntsville is now 40% contained, according to officials.

According to the Walker County Office of Emergency Management, a major fire erupted Friday afternoon in a wooded area along Lost Indian Camp Road just off FM-247.

The video above is ABC13's 24/7 livestream.

Crews continued worked late into the night Friday to contain the fire that grew 10 times its size in a matter of hours.

In an update on Saturday evening, the Texas A&M Forest Service announced the fire has lessened to 4,245 acres.

According to officials, the Florida Forest Service will takeover command of the wildfires beginning on Sunday morning.

At 4:21 p.m., the fire was estimated at 100 acres. More than an hour later, at 5:27 p.m., the fire grew to 500 acres. And at 7:37 p.m., just after dusk, the fire grew to 1,000 acres.

As of 9 p.m., the Texas A&M Forest Service reports the so-called Game Preserve Fire has burned about 1,200 acres and is 10% contained.

Early Saturday morning, 10% was still contained, but the fire stretched across 3,000 acres, the forest service said.

At about 8:30 a.m., officials told ABC13 the fire was 20% contained, but it continued to spread another 800 acres by 12 p.m.

No cause is known at this time, though drought conditions are making the fire's spread extreme.

At about 4 p.m., officials revealed the fire had expanded and has burned across 4,300 acres on Saturday afternoon.

The county's OEM recommended an evacuation for everything within three miles of Lost Indian Camp Road. Elsewhere, an evacuation order was called out by the New Waverly Fire Department to residents of Pinedale.

A closure was also in effect for a 6.5-mile stretch of FM-247, from FM-2989 to Pinedale Road.

On Saturday, SkyEye couldn't get close to the scene due to smoke clouding the sky.

"We have to turn around. There is no visibility up here. Unfortunately - oh man," Eduardo Hernandez said, reporting from SkyEye.

The fire in a wooded area north of Huntsville went from 100 acres to 1,000 in a matter of three hours Friday afternoon. As of Saturday morning, the growing wildfire has tripled in size.

Video from SkyEye on Friday captured smoke and fire streaming through the trees in a rural swath of the community.

Despite it being rural, there are still homes and farmland here. Voluntary evacuations are underway for people in the fire's path.

ABC13 spoke to a farmer who said he was rounding up cows to try and keep them safe as the fire bore down on him.

"This is my whole life. Here is everything I've got," he said.

The fire in a wooded area of Walker County went from 100 acres to 1,000 in a matter of three hours Friday afternoon. It has since grown larger.

The Walker County government website stated it issued a burn ban all the way back on July 31, which restricts most outdoor ignitions.

The fire in a wooded area north of Huntsville went from 100 acres to 1,000 in a matter of three hours Friday afternoon. As of Saturday morning, the growing wildfire has tripled in size.

The reported burn area is located 83 miles outside of downtown Houston.

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