No immediate need for DC-10 in Central Texas fire

BASTROP, Texas (AP) — A fire official now says there’s no immediate need to use a DC-10 jetliner to drop thousands of gallons of retardant on a Central Texas wildfire that’s destroyed nearly 1,400 homes and killed two people.

Texas Forest Service incident team manager Bob Koenig said today that the plane is ready and can now be used anywhere in the state if necessary.

Officials had said the DC-10 would be launched today over Bastrop County, the site of the most devastating of the nearly 180 wildfires ignited across the state this week.

Fire retardant is dropped to help make flames shorter and smaller, allowing firefighters on the ground to make headway. Crews in Bastrop have said they’ve managed to tame the biggest flames and are focusing on hotspots with ground crews.