East Texas — It wasn’t unusual that Longview firefighter Bert Scott was leaving the house on his day off to join fellow volunteers battling a Harrison County blaze.

After all, by Labor Day 2011, the state had experienced two summers in drought. Wildfires such as the one Scott was asked to help with — consuming 1,200 acres along Interstate 20 — were painfully commonplace as clouds stayed stingy, winds high and humidity low.

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