Bastrop County, Texas, a county about 40 miles southeast of Austin and an area that was devastated during the 2011 Labor Day period by the largest and costliest wildfires in the state’s history is once more reeling under sprawling fires that have already consumed almost 5,000 acres and destroyed 40 homes. Fortunately, while residents of about 400 homes have been advised to evacuate, no deaths or injuries have been reported.
The 2011 Bastrop fire killed two people, wiped out 1,700 homes and businesses and mauled through more than 32,000 acres, according to USA TODAY.
On Thursday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster for a county that is still recovering from the 2011 disaster.
The Austin American-Statesman reports the fire — called the “Hidden Pines fire” — may have been caused by a tractor pulling a shredder “through weeds and grass when an overheated bearing ignited grass clippings that had piled on top of the shredder. As the rancher pulled it through the field, it created a line fire…”
The Statesman also reports that an estimated 300 firefighters are on the ground battling the blaze and that a DC-10 loaded with 12,000 gallons of flame retardant is expected to be over the Hidden Pines fire Friday afternoon. Six helicopters, including Texas Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawks (Lead image and below), are also fighting the fire in Bastrop County, a fire that is only 25 percent contained.
Lead image and above: A Texas Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helps fight wildfires threatening homes and property near Bastrop, Texas, Oct. 14, 2015. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Malcolm McClendon
We wish the residents in the affected Bastrop County area Godspeed
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.