Posted on 09/05/2011 11:27:31 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Wildfire Update – Sept. 5, 2011
Current situation:
· Texas Forest Service responded yesterday to 63 new fires that burned 32,936 acres, including 22 new large fires.
· Strong winds and low relative humidity from Tropical Storm Lee caused numerous wildfires to spread rapidly yesterday. Additional National Guard Blackhawk helicopters and Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) strike teams, as well as a heavy airtanker from South Dakota were mobilized Sunday to assist with the large number of fires. Weather conditions are expected to reach critical levels again today.
· Texas Forest Service has dozens of aircraft ready to respond this morning, including four heavy airtankers, 15 single-engine airtankers, 12 helicopters, and 13 aerial supervision aircraft. A Type 1 incident management team has been requested to assist with the Bastrop County Complex.
· 251 of the 254 Texas counties are reporting burn bans.
· Daily detailed fire information can be found at inciweb.org.
New large fires from yesterday (more than 100 acres in timber, 300 acres in lighter fuels; or where homes were lost):
* Note: Details on many fires are still unconfirmed. Below is the latest information provided.
BASTROP COUNTY COMPLEX, Bastrop County. 14,000 acres, no containment. Heavy airtankers and single-engine airtankers assisted on this fire that started in the Lost Pines area just northeast of Bastrop. The fire has moved unchecked for at least 16 miles to the south and has jumped the Colorado River twice. The Circle D, K.C. Estates, Pine Forest, Colovista and Tahitian Village subdivision have been evacuated. Firefighters are trying to hold the fire at FM 2571. Reports indicate possibly 300 homes have been destroyed. MODIS satellite image indicates the fire has jumped Highway 95 and is approximately 25,000 acres.
STEINER RANCH, Travis County. 150 acres, no containment. The fire started just north of the Steiner Ranch subdivision. More than 1,000 homes are under mandatory evacuation in Steiner Ranch. At least 25 homes are reported lost. A Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System strike team responded.
PEDERNALES BEND, Travis County. 7,000 acres, unknown containment. The fire is burning four miles southeast of Spicewood. Twenty homes were lost, 30 homes damaged.
HENDERSON #495, Henderson County. 5,000 acres, unknown containment. Three homes were saved.
#491, Limestone County. 3,000 acres, unknown containment. Six homes were saved and one was lost on this fire 20 miles east of Waco.
DELHI, Caldwell County. 1,000 acres, 10 percent contained. Twenty homes were saved and six were lost on this fire east of Lockhart.
BAILEY, Colorado County. 1,000 acres, unknown containment. This fast-moving fire threatened 40 homes near Columbus. Blackhawks, single-engine airtankers and a heavy airtanker assisted.
MOORE, Smith County. 927 acres, 5 percent contained. Ten homes were evacuated and five were lost on this fire burning on the Smith/Gregg County line. Two civilian fatalities were reported.
#545, Upshur County. 500 acres, 50 percent contained. One hundred homes were saved; none lost. The fire is burning East of Gilmer.
LUTHERHILL, Fayette County. 2,000 acres, unknown containment. The community of Ruttersville was evacuated. Seven homes are reported lost.
BONBIEW RANCH, Van Zandt County. 350 acres, unknown containment. Twenty homes were saved southeast of Canton.
CLEMANIS, Upshur County. 400 acres, 85 percent contained. Twenty homes were saved.
#543, Gregg County. 300 acres, unknown containment. Numerous homes were saved, none lost.
#538, Harrison County. 200 acres, contained. One hundred fifty homes were evacuated in a trailer park east of Longview.
#502, Nacogdoches County. 200 acres, unknown containment. More than a dozen homes have been evacuated, but none lost.
#841, Houston County. 200 acres, unknown containment. Fifteen homes were threatened east of Crockett.
PLEASANT GREEN ROAD, Gregg County. 150 acres, contained. Numerous homes evacuated and saved south of Longview.
KENNEDY ROAD, Rusk County. 150 acres, unknown containment. Numerous homes threatened, one lost.
HODDE, Travis County. 325 acres, contained. Two hundred homes were evacuated and saved east of Pflugerville. No homes reported lost.
PETTYTOWN, Caldwell County. 200 acres, 90 percent contained. Twenty homes were saved east of Lockhart.
OLD MAGNOLIA, Gregg County. 100 acres, unknown containment. No homes threatened. Two fuel tanks exploded.
SOUTH SULPHER, Hunt County. 100 acres, 70 percent contained. Five homes were threatened and two were destroyed.
#839, Leon County (Concord Robbins). 100 acres, unknown containment. At least 15 homes are reported lost and more than 300 were evacuated.
Uncontained fires from previous days (more than 100 acres in timber, 300 acres in lighter fuels):
*Note: No current updates available except on the 101 Ranch Fire.
101 RANCH, Palo Pinto County. 6,555 acres, 75 percent contained. The fire is burning on the south side of Possum Kingdom Lake near the town of Brad. Thirty-nine homes and nine RVs have been reported destroyed.
CRAB PRAIRIE, Walker County. 977 acres, 90 percent contained. Numerous SEATs and helicopters, as well as National Guard bulldozers assisted. Two homes were reported to be lost.
HORNETS TANK, Briscoe County. 5,500 acres, 90 percent contained. The fire is burning in juniper and grass in rough terrain near Palo Duro Canyon.
CEDAR RIDGE, Bosque County. 903 acres, 75 percent contained.
3547 ROAD, Wise County. 400 acres, 80 percent contained. Approximately 60 homes were evacuated near this fast-moving fire. Five homes were lost.
JOHNSON (JACKSON) RANCH, Edwards County. 600 acres, 95 percent contained. Three homes were lost on this fire burning 27 miles northwest of Hunt.
BIG DRAW, Kimble County. 600 acres, 20 percent contained. Active fire behavior in heavy fuels and steep terrain was observed. Twenty homes are threatened.
RICK RANCH, Sutton County. 395 acres, 95 percent contained. The fire is burning 24 miles west of Junction.
JACK MOUNTAIN, Coryell County. 1,700 acres, 60 percent contained. The fire is burning five miles south of Gatesville on the Ft. Hood military reservation.
BUNDY ROSS RANCH, Edwards County. 600 acres, 75 percent contained. The fire is burning in juniper, grass and brush 7 miles southeast of Telegraph.
DOUBLE T, Menard County. 300 acres, 95 percent contained. The fire is burning 19 miles west of Brady.
PICKET RUN, Montague County. 1,100 acres, 90 percent contained. The fire is burning in tall grass 7 miles south of Bowie.
CEDAR TRUCK COMPLEX, Kimble County. 357 acres, 80 percent contained. Thirteen homes were saved on this fire burning just west of Fort McKavett. This was a combination of 34 different starts along a 24-mile stretch of highway.
COSTER, Hall County. 1,000 acres, 80 percent contained. Four homes were saved on this fire burning 26 miles northwest of Childress.
HORSESHOE BEND, Coryell County. 525 acres, 75 percent contained. The fire is burning 10 miles south of McGregor. National Guard Blackhawks assisted on the fire. Twelve homes were saved.
Weather Outlook:
A ridge of dry high pressure across the mid U.S. and the Texas panhandle will drift into west Central Texas during the day. This will continue the stronger winds over the east half or more of the state along with drier relative humidities into the 10 to 20 percent range across much of the state. High temperatures will be in the upper 70s to lower 80s over a large portion of North Texas to near 100 over Deep South Texas near the Mexico border. The stronger winds are expected to weaken over most of the state Monday night.
It looks like it’s crossed over into LA, unless that was already burning. I notice AR is having fires too
And OK.
“but President Obama has not yet declared the state a major disaster area as a result of the latest round of wildfires that have scorched Central, East and West Texas.”
But he declared the whole damn east coast a disaster area before the storm even hit. S O B!!!
I said this morning that at the debate tonight, Rick Perry should call him out publicly and make it a point that obama is playing politics with the lives of the citizens of Texas.
AFAIK, there have been few homes lost, but one 100 year old church was destroyed. The Jefferson (Marion Co.) and Linden (Cass Co.) schools are closed, because the fires disrupt school bus routes.)
And there are are thousands of acres of timber land still in its path...
Keep praying, Sir....the fires are still raging. :(
I just got this update from the statesman.
http://letters.statesman.com/1ab07bbb6layfousiboevgviaaaaaajlrcw3spucdhmyaaaaa
With a link to destryoed structures.
Thank you Arrowhead1952
Also, the Forest Service has updated their site.
http://tfsweb.tamu.edu/main/article.aspx?id=12888
Checking in before I head to bed. Just wanted to let you know that I’m still praying and still watching. Good night and G-d Bless Texas.
The latest from the Bastrop Fire in Austin and Obama's finally noticed.
Crews making headway on Bastrop fire; victim ID'd as Austin city workerBASTROP — Bastrop wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of houses and thousands of acres continued to burn Wednesday, but firefighters say they are making progress battling the blaze.
Officials said Wednesday that they have contained 30 percent of the larger Bastrop fire, which has so far annihilated about 800 houses and 34,000 acres, according to the Texas Forest Service.
Rescuers have begun conducting house-by-house searches for potential fire victims, but so far, the death toll remains at two.
Authorities identified one of the two victims as Michael Troy Farr, a 48-year-old City of Austin employee who was found Tuesday at his home on Hudson Drive near Smithville. Farr, an electrician who had worked for the city since 2003, worked in the building services division.
[snip]
Meanwhile, federal support may soon be on its way.
President Barack Obama telephoned Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday afternoon to offer condolences about the wildfires and pledge federal help with firefighting and recovery, the White House said.
Obama reached Perry in California, where the governor was preparing for Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate. After hanging up, Obama directed officials to ensure that they are "making all resources available" to Texas, the U.S. Forest Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the press office said.
Though the Bastrop blaze remains largely uncontained, firefighters have had success managing other Central Texas fires, including those in Steiner Ranch, Spicewood and Leander.
Along with the search for additional victims in Bastrop, officials with FEMA began an assessment with local officials of the fire damage...............
Central abd Northern PA are hurting pretty badly. It ain’t over. Some deaths, roads buckling, trees down, power out. I am high in the mountains so I don’t usually see the kind of really bad stuff that hits everywhere else.
So obama finally gave Texas a second thought. Funny he made it just under the wire before the debate last night. Thank G-d for small favors, I guess.
Will be checking back later for updates. Prayers up. Stay safe.
Prayers for you all up there too M.M. I had not been watching the weather conditions back East and was unaware, until this morning (looking around the net), that the situation had become so dire.
Be safe.
BASTROP COUNTY COMPLEX, Bastrop County. 34,068 acres, 30 percent contained. Heavy airtankers, scoopers, helicopters, and SEATs assisted on this fire that started in the Lost Pines area just northeast of Bastrop. Most of the forward progress of the fire has stopped, but significant intense burning continues in the interior. An assessment team has confirmed 1,386 homes have been destroyed. Two civilians were found dead Tuesday as search crews went through the charred subdivisions. A Southern Area Type I Incident Management Team is assisting in managing the fire. A FEMA Management Assistance Grant was received.
1386 homes verified destroyed
This is only in the north part of the fire zone
this is BAD
Real BAD
NO!
That is the latest sitrep
http://ticc.tamu.edu/Documents/Home/tx_sitrep.pdf
talking to a volunteer fireman from Smithville they have only started looking and counting in the North part of the fire zone..
Its gonna be a bigger number.
Gosh. How really awful.
People will pull together like they always do.
God bless them.
We’re Texans
You bet we will
the Flood of ‘98 was a 500 year flood, Comal, Guadalupe, Gonzales, and Dewitt Counties were devastated more homes than this were destroyed and lost in the flood
We stepped up and got over that as well.
It just wasn’t water but fire this time.
I lived in the desert in 1993 and that was more water than anything in memory. Sometimes life is hard.
Same here. In fact, I'm a volunteer firefighter just north of Houston (south of Spring).
We had a 35 acre plot of land go up over the weekend off of 1960.
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