Critical fire weather components, extremely dry vegetation and widespread drought are combining across the state this week to create fire danger conditions at least through Sunday, according to officials with Texas Forest Service.

This is the first time this year that critical fire danger has been forecast for such a lengthy period of time.

Conditions are ripe for wildfire west of Interstate 35, including the Western and Southern Plains, Trans Pecos and Hill Country.

Texas has not experienced similar drought conditions since 2006. That means the “fuels,” or grass, trees and brush, are dried out and easily ignited. The high winds Texas has seen this month can carry wildfire rapidly through a community.

“Consecutive days of accelerated drying have pushed fuels to the critically dry and extremely dry level for a large portion of the state,” said Brad Smith, a fire behavior analyst with Texas Forest Service. “When fuels reach these levels, it takes less weather to produce significant fires in high-risk fuels.”

So far this year, Texas Forest Service has suppressed 605 fires burning 70,000 acres. That’s compared to 149 fires burning 5,221 acres at this time last year.

In the past seven days alone, the agency has responded to 67 fires burning 23,439 acres. And since the elevated fire risk was identified on April 3, Texas Forest Service has responded to 28 fires burning almost 14,000 acres. In that short time frame, 160 homes were saved and seven were lost.

“The fire danger we are experiencing this week poses a severe threat to lives and property in the state of Texas,” said Mark Stanford, director of fire operations for Texas Forest Service.

Texas Forest Service has staged resources – including bulldozers, fire engines and aircraft – to respond to the potential threat through the weekend.