Texas helicopter pilot shoulders cost to battle raging wildfires: 'Everything around town is completely ash'
Pilot's volunteer operation costing up to $8,000 per day
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Texas pilot is footing the cost to help mitigate the state's second-largest wildfire in history.
Dustin Johnson, co-owner of Cedar Ridge Aviation in Knox City, joined "Fox & Friends First" on Thursday to describe the severity of the wildfires devastating the state's northern Panhandle area.
"The people are in shock," Johnson told co-host Carley Shimkus.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Everything around the town is completely ash."
The father of two is helping to fight the fires by dumping water from his helicopters using Bambi buckets.
WILDFIRES RAGE ACROSS TEXAS PANHANDLE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Smoke and fire rise from wildfires in a location given as Texas, U.S., in this handout picture released on February 27, 2024. (Greenville Fire-Rescue/Handout via REUTERS )
"We try to locate the closest water source possible," Johnson said. "We had circles we were making dropping water right on the flames."
"The fire line is so large, getting from one side of the fire to the other could take up to an hour in a helicopter," he said.
The volunteer firefighter spent 12 hours dumping water on Wednesday to quell the inferno.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I've never seen anything that compares to the magnitude of this fire."
Cars drive as smoke and fire rise from wildfires in a location given as Texas, U.S., in this handout picture released on February 27, 2024. (Greenville Fire-Rescue/Handout via REUTERS )
Johnson's volunteer mission focused around the town of Canadian, Texas.
"It was left up to volunteers and the local fire department," he said. "The only aircraft I saw all day were locally owned."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}To keep the volunteer operation going, he’s shelling out up to $8,000 per day.
His fleet is joined by three other operators from west Texas.
Johnson has answered the call of duty throughout his flying career, volunteering for firefighting missions and search-and-rescue operations.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Texas Panhandle fire has consumed nearly 900,000 acres, prompting widespread evacuations, road closures and emergency declarations.
Aerial view of wildfires in Texas U.S., February 27, 2024 in this picture obtained from social media. (Patrick Ryan/via REUTERS)
The largest fire burning is the Smokehouse Creek Fire north of Stinnett, with only 3% containment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, dry conditions and above-normal temperatures caused an increased risk of wildfire.
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On Tuesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 Texas counties because of the rapidly spreading wildfires in the Lone Star State.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.