From wildfires to tornadoes, a normal day at the office for The Texas Forest Service is responding to natural disasters.

Fire Operations Chief, Mark Stanford, said, "We'll send personnel, equipment, fire engines, bulldozers. We'll send aircraft, helicopters, air tankers."

On Memorial Day, two separate incidents required their assistance.

Two wildfires that burned into the city limits of Amarillo, destroyed at least a dozen homes

"A lot of rain, a lot of grass grew because of it and then we entered into this drought period, so we've got vegetation growing on the edge's of cities...that is there to burn," said Stanford.

Also, emergency management officials in Joplin, Missouri asked for help after a tornado ripped through the city earlier this month.

"Their job is to help order supplies, decide what is needed to assist the victims and the efforts to recover," said Stanford.

Mark Stanford has been with the Texas Forest Service for 32 years.
He says their goal is to bring order out of chaos, no matter what the cost.

Reps say the total bill for the state is estimated at almost $112 million. Of that, the Texas Forest Service says it's responsible for about $96.8 million of that.

So far this year, the Texas Forest Service has spent about $50 million on fire services.

"The state's had over 10,000 fires that have burned 2.7 million acres...and 470 homes have been lost," said Stanford.

The weather might be unpredictable, but you can count on The Texas Forest Service to leap into action and provide help where it's needed.

Texas Forest Service officials say 90% of Texas fires are caused by people and tomorrow marks the beginning of hurricane season.
They are advising people to do what you can to be pro-active.