Midland County's Reaction to Fires

It wasn't long after the flames settled that the county met to discuss the aftermath of the fire and the future of the community. One big decision was to move a big fighter closer to home.

Following the weekend's fires, Mdland County Commissioners decided we needed a lot more help across West Texas. They decided that the Midland County Annex would be a good temporary home for the Texas Forest Service's regional office. This move will enable a faster response time from emergency crews -- which is crucially important in these conditions.

"We're going to be challenged this year from far east Texas to some of the most rugged country," said Governor Rick Perry.

But the damage that has been done so far is hard enough to handle.

"Later after traveling through [the Midland County site] we declared it a disaster area and sent the appropriate declaration to the state of Texas," said Midland County Judge Mike Bradford.

After the declaration was issued, an incident management team was flown in to command and control the situation.

"The incident management team concept from all over the state is unheard of," said Chief Kidd of Texas Forest Service's Incident Management Team. "The things we are doing today will make history."

As for those who lost their homes, the declaration offers support when it comes time to rebuild.

"Ultimately we hope it results in low cost or no interest loans to help some of the displaced parties to refurbish their homes," said Judge Bradford.

Families affected by the fires probably won't see aid for another 10 months. Until then, they can continue to use support from organizations like the Red Cross.