from the statesman's ongoing coverage
Sep. 4th, 2011 08:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
threeplusfirehttp://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/blotter/entries/2011/09/04/fires_raging_throughout_centra.html
The fire in Bastrop County has been confirmed to have burned 14,000 acres and has grown to become an estimated 16 miles long, said Mark Stanford, fire chief of the Texas Forest Service.
“It’s catastrophic,” Stanford said of the Bastrop County fire. “It’s a major natural disaster.”
Forest service spokeswoman Lexi Maxwell said that fire began around 2 p.m. in the Circle D subdivision off State Highway 71. It merged with another fire north of there which pushed south and crossed over State Highways 21 and 71, Maxwell said. Aerial units estimated at least 300 homes had been damaged or destroyed by the fire.
Today’s fires have taxed every fire department in Travis County. The Austin Fire Department 14 available fire units in Austin, but can only send one fire truck to the scene of traffic accidents currently, DeCrane said. They’re also not sending units to low priority (non-emergency) 911 calls.
EARLIER: Firefighters are battling fires across Central Texas right now, including one that has burned through nearly 200 acres in Pflugerville and others that are currently forcing evacuations in Pflugerville, Steiner Ranch and Bastrop County.
A grass fire has consumed 200 acres in the Weiss Lane area of Pflugerville and is not yet under control, said Travis County sheriff’s department spokesman Roger Wade. Another 10 homes are currently in the path of the fire. Firefighters are taking steps to protect those homes by wetting down areas and other fire prevention techniques, he said.
Meanwhile, firefighters are battling fires at two homes in the Gatlinburg subdivision on Pigeon Ford Road in Pflugerville. The fire ran along the fence line separating the houses and jumped to a hay field. The fire is now threatening the nearby Boulder Ridge subdivision, which has been evacuated, said Pflugerville spokeswoman Terri Waggoner. Waggoner said the cause of that fire is undetermined and that rumors of arson are false.
“There is no arson, no suspicion of arson, and the source is still unknown,” she said. In Bastrop County, the Colony subdivision is being evacuated. It is located off of Highway 71, several miles west of Bastrop.
A separate fire east of Bastrop has burned through 6,000 acres, according to the office of Bastrop Judge Ronnie McDonald. Texas 71 and Texas 21 east of Bastrop are closed, and the fire is not contained, his office said.
People at the Steiner Ranch subdivision, in northwest Travis County off of RM 620, are also being evacuated. Three homes are currently on fire, and the fires are still spreading, said Assistant Fire Chief John Durham.
“We don’t have any containment,” Durham said. “We being told there are no aircraft resources available, so this is a ground battle.”
Earlier today, a fire in Cedar Park ignited in a field behind houses on Bois D’Arc Lane and destroyed two homes. Fire Chief Chris Connealy said the fire was reported about 11:30 a.m. and was considered contained by 1:45 p.m. Crews will remain on the scene to spread fire retardant and watch for flareups, he said.
The two families who lost their homes, in the 2600 block of Bois D’Arc, were getting help from the Red Cross and a local church.
The fire in Bastrop County has been confirmed to have burned 14,000 acres and has grown to become an estimated 16 miles long, said Mark Stanford, fire chief of the Texas Forest Service.
“It’s catastrophic,” Stanford said of the Bastrop County fire. “It’s a major natural disaster.”
Forest service spokeswoman Lexi Maxwell said that fire began around 2 p.m. in the Circle D subdivision off State Highway 71. It merged with another fire north of there which pushed south and crossed over State Highways 21 and 71, Maxwell said. Aerial units estimated at least 300 homes had been damaged or destroyed by the fire.
Today’s fires have taxed every fire department in Travis County. The Austin Fire Department 14 available fire units in Austin, but can only send one fire truck to the scene of traffic accidents currently, DeCrane said. They’re also not sending units to low priority (non-emergency) 911 calls.
EARLIER: Firefighters are battling fires across Central Texas right now, including one that has burned through nearly 200 acres in Pflugerville and others that are currently forcing evacuations in Pflugerville, Steiner Ranch and Bastrop County.
A grass fire has consumed 200 acres in the Weiss Lane area of Pflugerville and is not yet under control, said Travis County sheriff’s department spokesman Roger Wade. Another 10 homes are currently in the path of the fire. Firefighters are taking steps to protect those homes by wetting down areas and other fire prevention techniques, he said.
Meanwhile, firefighters are battling fires at two homes in the Gatlinburg subdivision on Pigeon Ford Road in Pflugerville. The fire ran along the fence line separating the houses and jumped to a hay field. The fire is now threatening the nearby Boulder Ridge subdivision, which has been evacuated, said Pflugerville spokeswoman Terri Waggoner. Waggoner said the cause of that fire is undetermined and that rumors of arson are false.
“There is no arson, no suspicion of arson, and the source is still unknown,” she said. In Bastrop County, the Colony subdivision is being evacuated. It is located off of Highway 71, several miles west of Bastrop.
A separate fire east of Bastrop has burned through 6,000 acres, according to the office of Bastrop Judge Ronnie McDonald. Texas 71 and Texas 21 east of Bastrop are closed, and the fire is not contained, his office said.
People at the Steiner Ranch subdivision, in northwest Travis County off of RM 620, are also being evacuated. Three homes are currently on fire, and the fires are still spreading, said Assistant Fire Chief John Durham.
“We don’t have any containment,” Durham said. “We being told there are no aircraft resources available, so this is a ground battle.”
Earlier today, a fire in Cedar Park ignited in a field behind houses on Bois D’Arc Lane and destroyed two homes. Fire Chief Chris Connealy said the fire was reported about 11:30 a.m. and was considered contained by 1:45 p.m. Crews will remain on the scene to spread fire retardant and watch for flareups, he said.
The two families who lost their homes, in the 2600 block of Bois D’Arc, were getting help from the Red Cross and a local church.