FOREST FIRE

[Marnark]

NEWS

So, my future is going to be very unpredictable for the next week. I cannot say what is going to happen.

We recently had a cold front come into Texas – first of the season and a welcome break in the heat. But it also brought with it some 30 mph winds. Given our dire drought (10 mo with no rain after 7 or 8 previous years of no rain), this was disaster.

We have had massive fires all over the state. A lot of them in MY AREA. One fire just 10 miles to my West is some 10 miles long, they cannot contain it and are evacuating, trying to protect just structures. But we’re not really in danger from that one.

More to our concern is a fire to our north. It is still some 50 miles away, but this fire has already consumed some 14,000 acres and we are choking on the smoke and ash from that. My family and I have packed up valuables, “portable wealth” and the animals. We are terrified that this huge fire is going to reach us. Because this one, too, is also non contained, and seems to be feeding off of itself – and we are directly in its path if some 50 miles away.

But with 30 mph winds, 50 miles is nothing.

So we’re a tad alarmed.

When the sun went down today, the wind died down to about 10 mph, give or take. The air is horrible. But the animals started trying to kill each other in the cages/trailer (especially the horses and cats). So we let them out again.

We have disced around the pasture to try and create a small barrier, but given the type of fire … I really don’t see that helping. As an example, I went and I personally saw the fire to our west with my own eyes. The flames coming off of that forest fire were some 150 feet high. I say that because they were three times the height of the trees, and the trees in that area are 50-60 feet tall in general.

The fire north of here, they have 3 c130 airplains and a fleet of helicopters trying to put it out. I hope they succeed, but just that they have that many aircraft of that type tells me that it is very very bad. 

So … so everyone knows … I may be scurrying around the state trying to avoid the fires with my livestock and valuables. I have no idea what is going to happen next, if I may even have a home a week from now. I will try to keep everyone posted, I will try to stay in contact. But … obviously … I just don’t know.

I am afraid I may lose everything here soon, I pray it does not come to pass. Please pray for us. <3

[HG]

Sorry to hear about the fires Marnark. Hoping that you and your family remain safely away from the fires and that the damage is minimal. If there's anything I can do don't hesitate to ask.

[Marnark]

New Update.

We have been updated. The big fire to our North, last I have heard has reached 30,000 acres of damage and is still powering along. They can’t get it stopped at all. Worse, another fire broke out where the other “smaller” one had been, over by Delhi. Only, that one came this way. That is the fire that drove us out of our home.

My family and I are no longer at home, having evacuated. People directly to our north some 3 miles were mandatorily evacuated. We opted to head out before it was mandatory. We did manage to load up all the goats and both horses, but my brother lost the skin off of two fingers doing it. The cows are pretty much going to have to tough it out somehow. We did find our Jersey, and she hasn’t got the rope on her anymore. Which is good news.

We also have all three dogs and almost all of our cats. All of the cats that hang out around the house have been brought along, and the momma cat from the barn was caught. But all four of her kittens were uncatchable.

We opened the gates to the pig pens to let my wild hogs go if they so chose to go. Last I saw they were for whatever reason still hanging out in their pen as if the gates were shut.

For the moment we are only 6 miles from home, at my friend’s place south of the interstate. We are hoping this is all the far we have to go. We are here because she has facilities that can hold the goats and horses, unlike anyone else I know. If things get worse, we’ll have to recatch the animals, reload, and head east.

We made quite a procession, cruising along the road at 15 mph behind the tractor, which hauled the trailer with the goats and horses. Magic kicked quite a few dents in the back gate, popping the paint off in places; she was not a happy camper, but then it was only her second ride in a trailer in her whole life, the first happening some 4 years ago.

For the moment, we’re staying in my friend’s barn apartment. I am glad I brought a few blankets and pillows, because the concrete floor is pretty hard – there is no furniture in here.

Right now I am really loving my portable wifi router <3

[♥Rizu-Chan♥]

Oh my. I hope those fire burn out soon and the animals are alright. I'm sure the kittens will be able to get far away, and the pigs too probably once they stop being lazy. XD

My best wishes to you Marnark, I hope this all gets resolved soon. *sacrifices offerings to the rain gods* You guys need a nice heavy storm pouring down water over there to put out all those fires.

[Marnark]

The fire that is north of here has reached 30,000 acres burned now, and it is still 0% contained. There is a fire closer than that, that drove us out of our home between fire threat and sheer volumes of smoke. We had bits of houses and trees falling out of the sky on us. That fire is 8,000 acres, and only 50% contained.

[♥Rizu-Chan♥]

My god, that sounds absolutely awful! D:
I've never seen a fire out of control of that size, the ones we get over here barely take an acre or two -- and it's usually people setting fire to dry fields.

I hope the wind changes direction and drives the fire away from you guys at least. >:

[Marnark]

Here's a shot of what the fire was doing. The dots in the bottom are actually cows in the foreground, the green line behind them being a wall of forest some 50 ft high. Just for perspective.

But, thank goodness, a bit of good news!

This afternoon my siblings and I went to check on our home. So far so good. Everything is intact and the animals that we had to abandon were fine. So we took care of the chickens and milked the cow, etc.

The Delhi fire that drove us out of our farm has been contained and will soon be completely out if it isn't already.

I haven't had any word at all on the Bastrop fire that had consumed some 30,000 acres. But the winds have died back to 5-10 mph, and are now out of the south. The air is clearing nicely, and we can breathe again. Hopefully the winds stay out of the south, and will hold back the fires until they can be put out.

I am feeling confident that our farm should be in the clear now, and we're hanging out at my friend's barn for the time being because it's clearer air and my dad and I keep having nosebleeds. We're going to wait a few more hours and see what happens, maybe stay overnight before heading home again.

[Marnark]

Things have taken a turn for the worse. The Bastrop fire is still out of control, and is swinging back and forth in the north/south alternating winds. They can't even get a handle on it. The smoke is back, the blanket of smoke overhead is back with a vengeance. We can't breathe at all.

It is also drawing closer to our home; again we are afraid we are going to lose it. I made a few more runs back home to get a few more car loads of things. More clothes, some blankets, shovels and axes and things of that nature.

Here at my friend's place, we are going to make a stand if it comes down to it. Here, there are no trees at all, the grass is next to non existent it's so short, and it's a big bare hill. We have half a chance of saving my friend's place, and all our animals collectively housed within it. So this is what we're going to do. Meantime, we're living in her barn.

Here are some articles related to the fire. They have pulled out all firefighters and the feds have taken over. This news has made my heart sink to the very bottoms; I have no confidence in the feds at all. None.

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Bastrop fire on move again; two confirmed dead
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By Gonzales Cannon News Services
Posted September 6, 2011 - 2:12pm
BASTROP — The worst wildfire in Texas history has now claimed the lives of at least two people, according to county officials, and continued inching toward the city of Bastrop as federal officials arrived on the scene to take charge.

The firestorm had destroyed 34,000 acres and 550 homes in Bastrop County mid-afternoon Tuesday, more residences than all the other wildfires this year combined, the Texas Forest Service said. The Bastrop County Complex Fire, pushed by strong winds and fed by dry grass, shrubs and trees, jumped the Colorado River twice as it expanded Monday and pushed south.

Officials with Bastrop County announced that two people had been confirmed dead because of the blaze during a news conference Tuesday afternoon, but the names of the victims were not immediately released.
Map and satellite images of wildfires

Agents with the federal National Interagency Fire Center, a coalition of federal agencies including the U.S. Forest Service, assumed command of firefighting efforts Tuesday afternoon.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who left the presidential campaign trail Monday in South Carolina to return to Texas, said Tuesday the total number of homes destroyed by wildfires since the fire season began last December was now more than 1,000.

Perry spent time in Bastrop late Monday and took a helicopter tour of the burned Steiner Ranch area in Travis County. Statewide, texans are fighting more than 60 wildfires, including 23 major ones. No injuries have been reported in what is being called the Bastrop County Complex Fire, but two deaths were reported in an East Texas wildfire near Gladewater.

Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald has requested that the Governor ask FEMA for individual assistance. We are cautiously optimistic that this will be approved. FEMA will arrive in Bastrop this week and will set up information for federal assistance. Details to follow.

Perry said FEMA likely would arrive Wednesday and the state would seek federal disaster relief and that state officials were considering seeking military resources from Fort Hood.

More than 250 firefighters from around the country have come to Bastrop to help, and more were on the way, the Forest Service said. Among them were 10 firefighters, four brush trucks and a command truck with the Alamo Area Regional Strike Team.

Firefighters had been hopeful that calmer winds on Tuesday would help retard the growth of the blaze, but as the afternoon began the fire again moved, this time toward Bastrop itself.

The fire is burning between Smithville and the City of Bastrop, in and around Tahitian Village, The Colony, Colavista, Pine Forest and Circle D subdivisions, K-C Estates, La Riata, Pine Valley Estates and Pine Loop subdivisions. A series of smaller blazes eventually merged on Sunday and Monday to form the larger blaze, which was at one point measures at 16 miles wide and four miles deep.

The Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management released a list of evacuated areas via its Facebook account at around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday: Circle D Estates, KC Estates, Tahitian Village, Pine Forest, Colo Vista, Wilderness Ridge, Bastrop State Park, Beuscher State Park, Lake Bastrop Acres, Park Road 1C west to city of Bastrop north of Hwy 71, S of Hwy 71 to river west of Smithville, La Reata, Pine Valley Loop off Hwy 304, Bluebonnet Acres, Hobbs Creek Subdivision.

Road closures on Tuesday included: Hwy 71 to 153 (Smithville); Hwy 21 East from Bastrop to 290; Hwy 21 West roads 535 to 1209

Officials reported some evacuations north of the City of Waelder in Gonzales County, but radio station KCTI reported late Monday that they had received word from Sgt. Austin Harper of the Waelder Police Department that no evacuations were yet underway.

“At this time the Waelder Police Department has no intentions of evacuating. Myself and Chief Taylor have assessed the Bastrop fire and as of right now Waelder is not in imminent danger of being overrun by wildfire,” Harper told the radio station. “Everyone should be ready to evacuate quickly should the need arise if the situation arises. In the event Waelder is to be evacuated the Fire Departments siren will be sounded constantly for several minutes. Residents in need of transportation out of the city will need to go to the community center and will be transported out of the city via WISD school busses. The Waelder Police Department will be reassessing the Basdrop fire situation every few hours so as to make sure there is plenty of time to evacuate if the need arises. Those citizens concerned may contact me via cell phone at 830-857-4381 for updates or further information.”

Bastrop County officials reported that residents east of Highway 95 need to boil their water. Also, power outages are still widespread in the area, but crews are working to get power back on. Some residents nearby but not affected by the fire may also be suffering from a loss of power.

The blaze began as a series of fires Sunday, but has since burned together and even jumped the Colorado River at points.

Five shelters are now open for evacuees: Bastrop Middle School and Ascension Catholic Church, Smithville- Recreation Center, Grace Lutheran Church and First Baptist Church.

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Feds to assume control of Bastrop Co. fire; volunteer firemen turned away
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By Dave Mundy/[e-mail]
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.

he 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.”

Several of the volunteers voiced their displeasure, however, at federal agents taking charge at the scene after appeals by Texas Gov. Rick Perry for federal aid following another series of wildfires earlier this year was turned down.

“They’re willing to sacrifice the lives of the people of Bastrop just so they can come in here and pull rank,” said Daniel Miller of Nederland, who had led a group of Texas Nationalist Movement members who were certified firefighters to Bastrop from the Beaumont area. Miller said he and several other members of the group would remain in the Bastrop area to aid with civilian relief efforts.

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Breaking News
Slideshow: Readers submit dramatic photos of firestorm
Posted 1 day 5 hours ago
Gonzales, area firefighters may have contained Delhi fire
Posted 1 day 4 hours ago
Gonzales and area firefighters using heavy equipment may finally have contained the Caldwell County wildfire near Delhi after the blaze consumed more than 1,000 acres.
Bastrop fire on move again; two confirmed dead
Posted 3 hours 13 min ago
The worst wildfire in Texas history has now claimed the lives of at least two people, according to county officials, and continued inching toward the city of Bastrop as federal officials arrived on the scene to take charge.
Gonzales, area firefighters may have contained Delhi fire
By Dave Mundy/[e-mail]
Posted September 5, 2011 - 1:24pm
Gonzales and area firefighters using heavy equipment may finally have contained the Caldwell County wildfire near Delhi after the blaze consumed more than 1,000 acres.

Gonzales County Judge David Bird sent out an automated message via telephone late Monday that "The Delhi fire has been held north of I-10 and North of Chalk Road, west of Hwy 304...There are no fires currently burning in Gonzales County..."

An unofficial report said the fire was now "95 percent contained," and that residents in the Harwood area were in no immediate danger of being forced to evacuate.

The Delhi Fire scorched several hundred acres late Sunday evening before firefighters were able to slow its advance late in the evening with the aid of bulldozers plowing a ditch ahead of the advancing flames. Even though the fire had slowed, it was reported to be only 10 percent contained.

The blaze re-erupted Monday afternoon, whipped by strong gusty winds, and at one point firefighters used bulldozers and road graders to cut a trench in advance of the blaze as it approached County Road 304 just south of the Delhi Community Center. Gonzales County Sheriff's deputies later closed 304 to all northbound traffic as fears grew the fire had jumped the road, but the trenches apparently held the fire's advance.

Firefighters from at least six different departments staged out of the Delhi Community Center.

Gonzales County Fire Chief Keith Schmidt reported earlier in the day that no mandatory evacuations had been ordered in Gonzales County at this time, but residents of northern reaches of the county should be prepared to move quickly. He said that emergency personnel would go door-to-door to inform residents should evacuations become necessary.


“The best things citizens in this county can do is go to the Gonzales County website and click on the Global Connect link, and register there,” he said. “This will help emergency personnel find you in the event we need an evacuation. We’ve been wanting to do a push on that for some time, and this is a chance to do that.”


The Global Connect online form enables a citizen to register name, address and phone information so emergency personnel know how and where to contact them in the event an evacuation os necessary.


Schmidt said the fire department has also received a number of calls asking about dropping off donations of food or water for firefighters.


“If folks would like to drop of water and ice, we’ll gladly take it” at the fire station downtown, Schmidt said.