Overview
- The Pine Tree Road fire, discovered Thursday around 5 p.m., scorched roughly 2,114 acres and was reported mostly contained Friday morning.
- Union County ordered evacuations for residents along Lawson Road and opened shelters at the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium and Immanuel Baptist Church, housing about 150 people.
- Crews used bulldozers to build containment lines while aircraft grounded by severe weather Thursday night resumed aerial water drops midday Friday.
- The Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s wildfire dashboard lists the blaze as started by natural causes and officials say there have been no reported injuries.
- Statewide drought has driven burn bans across most counties and more than 1,000 fires this year, prompting officials to urge homeowners to remove leaf litter and prepare evacuation plans.