Wild Fires

[dabutcher]

yeah the one out by Pedernales river is the next largest in our area something like 8-9,000acres.  Bastrop was at like 26,000acres and 476 houses destroyed about 2 or 3 hours ago.  Leander-One up the road from my house was 135acres and 14 houses destroyed. Steiner ranch destroyed like 25 houses and damaged around another 30.  it's horrible. 

[uglydog]

Derick Ensor home still in danger those fires keep flaring up as is Logans posre the fre was hust the other side of river from his house about 3 hours ago.

Matt Aggie has now been evacuated, fire still moving

[tnhillbilly]

Praying that ya'll get some much needed rain, and for all that have been affected.

[dabutcher]

damn it.... saying a prayer for those guys.  hopefully we'll wake up to some relief in the battle those guys are fighting.  i feel guilty cause i had been praying for cooler weather......i'll take 120's temps and NO fires if god lends us a hand.

[uglydog]

Matt did not have to evacuate, I was mis informed, they were close to it though. They are okay this morning too. Waiting to hear from Smithville crew.

I tell you what the Media would be cover celbrity on every channel but this fire has consumed thousands of lives for the past few days and all they are covering is a few major areas . This fire was from Bastrop nearly all the way to interstate 10, Another burned Gonzales up the day before. I don't see it on the news anywhere very little on any maps or current imformation about any of the people, properties, livestock effected by all of this.

Facebook and phone texting has been the way to let me know my close friends have been okay and how far the flames are from me. AS of yesterday had the wind not laid or shifted slightly I ws worried I was going to have to evacuate the millin animals I have. I have been staying on top of this for the past two days and calling around check points to see. So many people in between me and the fire did not eve know it was coming or burning at all. It was not on the radio either and houston station that we get did not cover it 35 miles north of me. Frustrating!!!! on top of being so sad for those that have lost so much.

I have birds coming to my feeders that must be trying to stay out of the smoke.

[matt_aggie04]

Yeah we were packed and ready to go but luckily they didn't come make us leave.  My parents were forced to leave their house and now cannot get back to it because of road closures.  Everyone keep praying, there are around 80-100 people that lost their homes in my area.

[uglydog]

DEmoon posted thgis on Facebook about 45 minutes ago

Derick Ensor
Our house and property is OK. Trying to get feed & water to 100 goats & check on 150 cows. Pray for all the friends and family who lost everything.

[dabutcher]

I don't know if ya'll saw it but Derek said his house was OK.  Glad to hear you didn't have to evacuate Matt. 

Krystal, I hear you.  I had a fire about 2 miles from the house that burned up right around 900 acres and i couldn't find out anything about it....even the county didn't have much to offer.  luckily they've got it 75% contained and the wind has died down considerably. If it wasn't for the smoke i wouldn't have known it was there.

[uglydog]

taken and hour half ago in Bastrop the fires are still going


this one was yesterday evening smoke cloud right after the wind laid and you can see Cistern/Rosanky/Smithville sky from my property, wish could say it was a beautiful sunset but it was not

[BobbyB]

Coming home thru Victoria yesterday, the smoke was thick about half way to Cuero. A buddy said it was all the way to Austwell. Seems like half of Texas must be on fire right now.

[Eric]

The smoke is killing us down here. We had ash actually falling south of Cuero. Been working with my face covered the past two days.

[dabutcher]

well we got updated that the fire that was in Leander is being considered Arson......no further information has been given.  What kind of a-hole does stuff like that?

[ETHHunters]

As far as im concerned that is attempted murder! We have several around here that they suspect is arson. You would have to be throwed off to set a fire!

[uglydog]

this one was sent to me by cell phone off of 304 I think is road number across from Hayne Prairie Auction /Watterson Ranch Road/ texaco  station around 3 today i believe

[ETHHunters]

The big fire in our area has burnt 14,000 acres. Still not under control.

[uglydog]

Here is some good very current info on friends and family and fires in the rosanky -smithville areas if anybody else is needing it

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Smithville-Texas-Wildfire-Info/268475523177656?ref=ts&sk=wall

I just heard alot of something flying overhead, don't know what it was but it was loud

[matt_aggie04]

Here are few pics I took of the fire yesterday. Still very smokey and a lot if ash falling and choppers/planes flying around.




This picture was sent to me, it was about 3 miles north of my parents when the fire crossed 1488

This red oak leaf floated over 15 miles and landed at my buddies place.

[Bar W]

I'm with u guys on the sorry coverage from the news I own some property in dobbin little ways from magnolia in the fm 1488 area and my wife has family and friends between there and plantersville. We didn't even know there was a fire there until she talked to her grandma. If y'all get any info on the fire in that area please post it up. God bless the fire fighters.

[uglydog]

Bar W, her are some links that will get you faster and much more accurate info. on that area of Texas, Hope this helps.

 www.facebook.com/montgomerycountyfireinfo -Montgomery County

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Texas-Wild-Fires-Location-Updates/134928273270064 - TeXas Wild Fire Location

http://www.facebook.com/WallerCountyFireInfo - Waller County

feeding cattle south of Bastrop on burnt pasture land

[uglydog]

look at this link fires map. It gives latitude and longitude, yellow is fires still going from days before whit/grey is contained and red are new
http://tx.dtswildfire.com/

two hour old update on Bastrop complex

From KVUE News: New from the TX Forest Service: BASTROP COUNTY COMPLEX, Bastrop County. 33,038 acres. The State Operations Center is reporting 30 percent containment. Most of the forward progress of the fire has stopped, but significant intense burning continues in the interior. Twenty subdivisions remain evacuated. An assessment team has confirmed 785 homes have been destroyed. Two civilians were found dead yesterday as search crews went through the charred subdivisions.

for current info to follow this at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bastrop-County-Weather/188244027909222


Aerial photo taken Monday afternoon. Photo courtesy Fayette County Sgt. Ron Naumann

By Dave Mundy/manager@gonzalescannon.com
Posted September 6, 2011 - 12:51pm

BASTROP — Firefighting-trained volunteers from around the state converged on Bastrop and Smithville Tuesday to lend a hand to the beleaguered local firefighters battling the Bastrop County Complex Fire — only to be sent away as federal officials arrived at the scene and took command, apparently because local officials never made a formal request for volunteers.

“We were at the station getting set up into strike teams, and this guy came up and said that the U.S. Forest Service had ‘assumed control of the situation, and that ‘If you don’t have a vehicle that squirts water, go home,’” said Gordon Greer of Kirbyville, who drove all night Monday to arrive in the town beset by the worst wildfire in Texas history. “You’ve got guys who had driven all night long from Corpus Christi and Brownsville on their own dime, and they turned them away. He was really a (bleep) about it.

“There was a whole line of beige cars that came in this morning, tinted windows and such,” Greer said.

A spokesperson with the U.S. National Interagency Incident Center, Jennifer Jones, confirmed that federal group of several different agencies would be assuming command in Bastrop County around 1 p.m. Tuesday, but had not done so when the firefighting volunteers were told to leave. April Saginor with the Texas Forest Service said her agency had not given any such order, to her knowledge, but promised to provide an update later in the day.

The question is apparently one of protocol, however.

The Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management announced via its Facebook account Tuesday afternoon that “Any fire mutual aid requests would always come through (and to) Local, State and National fire service and emergency leadership. This message sent as per Texas Fire Chiefs, TIFMAS, IAFC, USFA and FEMA. If you are a fire fighter wanting to volunteer you have to be activated by the National Forestry Service first.”

The Texas Forest Service issued a statement Tuesday evening that it is not requesting firefighters/retired firefighters to report to Central Texas.

"If a person wants to fight fire they can:  1. Apply for a full-time Texas Forest Service position. We are not hiring seasonals as we currently do not have the time to hire, train and certify them. 2. Join a local fire department. 3. Members of local departments should not self-dispatch. Have your fire chief contact TIFMAS Coordinator Joe Florentino at jflorentino@littleelm.org"

http://www.gonzalescannon.com/node/6410