Officials at Fort Hood, Texas, have suspended all live-fire training operations at the military post until further notice in order to contribute to ongoing firefighting efforts, the installation announced Wednesday.
The press release noted that the current hold on training operations allows personnel and Fort Hood maximum flexibility when it comes to safely conducting firefighting operations both in the air and on the ground. Multiple agencies are assisting in the fight against the fire, including the Missouri Army National Guard and the Fort Hood Fire Department. Multiple units from Fort Hood are also assisting.
The release also noted that the fire, in its current state and location, is not a risk of leaving the installation boundary and also poses zero threat to life and property.
These operations involve both air-water drops on the fire in addition to using bulldozers to “cut and widen fire breaks" in order to contain the fire.
According to Stripes, the fire has been burning for the last four days and is located over 6,500 acres of Fort Hood. Because of the hot and dry conditions throughout the state, Stripes reported that the fires are unlikely to go away naturally until the state gets hit with a significant amount of rain precipitation.
Fort Hood officials said that updates on the progress of the fire will be released when they become available.
Noah Nash is a rising senior at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. At school, he is the editor in chief of the Collegian Magazine and the digital director of the Collegian, Kenyon's newspaper.
