As firefighters continued to focus on the Bastrop County Complex Fire, the most destructive wildfire in Texas state history, on Tuesday, October 4, 2011, around 1:45 in the afternoon, yet another fire broke out in a heavily forested area seven miles northeast of Bastrop. The Old Potato Road Fire raged across 1000 acres overnight as firefighters battled the blaze with everything available.
"The fire is now 25% contained," according to Bill Paxton, Public Information Officer with the Texas Forest Service. "We have two task forces working the fire with 58 people, five heavy airtankers, 10 helicopters, SEATs, and the DC-10 dropping fire retardant. We're making progress."
According to Paxton, the Texas Forest Service does not know what started the fire, "but we've sent investigators down to determine the cause. It’s close to the old fire's perimeter, so it could have been caused by a spot across the line. It could be anything, really. It’s under investigation."
Paxton explained that the Bastrop County Complex Fire, which has now burned 34,068 acres six miles NE of Bastrop, is 100% contained, but there are still active areas within the containment lines that could send sparks outside of the containment lines. "This fire is very close to the older fire," Paxton said.
In an odd coincidence, the Bastrop County Complex Fire started exactly one month earlier, on September 4, 2011. The Bastrop County Complex Fire destroyed 1649 homes and caused the deaths of two residents.
Mild Wind Conditions Aid Firefighters
Public Information Officer John Nichols has been at the location of the new Bastrop County fire near Old Potato Road since the fire started yesterday afternoon. "Right now, the wind conditions are mild and there is no movement in the trees," Nichols explained.
Nichols also said the break in the weather is enabling firefighters to get a strong hold on the fire. "We are hitting this fire with as much as we can, preparing for tomorrow's prediction of strong winds. We're trying to take the heat out of the fire using the aircraft available to us from Austin. We did have a slight fire column earlier, but I don't even see smoke in that area now."
Nichols did say that there are 50 homes in front of the fire and 28 homes were evacuated last night, but these were primarily precautionary measures. "Residents were evacuated from a nearby area, but there's a large field between the timbered area still burning and the homes that were evacuated," Nichols explained.
"We based the evacuation decision on the fact that there are homes in the general area located on roads that are difficult to access. Some of these roads have deep pockets of sand and it's difficult to access these areas with tankers. We didn't want to face evacuation in adverse conditions. I believe evacuation was the right choice. We are hoping to get these folks back in their homes tomorrow," Nichols said.
South 104 Fire in Hardeman County
The South 104 Fire in Hardeman County is still burning on 3700 acres 12 miles southwest of Quanah, Texas. Firefighters took advantage of the break in the wind to make tremendous progress on this fire, which is now 90% contained.
The South 104 fire started burning in short grass and shrubs on September 21, 2011 at 1:41 in the afternoon. It is exhibiting moderate fire behavior with medium growth potential according to the Texas Forest Service. The fire escaped containment on September 27, 2011, jumped a river and grew an additional 1222 acres. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Burn Bans and Texas Wildfire Map
On October 4, 2011, the Texas Forest Service responded to 11 new fires burning on 1047 acres, including the Old Potato Road Fire in Bastrop County. In the past week, the Texas Forest Service responded to 104 fires burning on 5731 acres. The Texas Forest Service continues to urge residents to use caution in outdoor activities.
"Anyone in drought-stricken areas, such as New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and even Oklahoma should be acting cautiously right now," John Nichols advised. "Even though the days are shorter, even if there's dew on the windows and there seems to be more humidity in the air, we cannot be complacent in these extreme fire conditions."
Nichols cautions residents to respect the burn bans. "We’re still in extreme fire conditions in this part of country. Residents should respect burn ban orders. Do not do anything that might create problems for you and your neighbors, and that includes activities that might create a spark."
In the state of Texas, 251 of 254 counties are currently reporting burn bans. The Texas Forest Service has a wildfire map here that is regularly updated.
Start of the Texas Wildfire Season and Continued Drought
Oddly enough, the Texas wildfire season has just begun--in normal conditions, the Texas wildfire season begins in October, but the historic drought, dead pines and junipers and other fuels have contributed to creating a year-round fire season in 2011. According to the US Drought Monitor, 86% of the state of Texas is currently experiencing exceptional drought conditions.
Is it possible that the worst is yet to come? On September 27, 2011, the Texas Forest Service announced that severe drought conditions and the resulting dangerous fire conditions will continue through fall and winter of 2011. Combined with the powerful gusts of wind that generally move across Texas in the wintertime, this could be the worst wildfire season of the year.
According to Texas Forest Service Information Officer Jack Horner, "The normal Texas fire season would just be getting going this time of year, but [Texas] had almost a whole year of fire season already."
The Texas Forest Service is re-positioning its management teams to meet this threat. According to Jack Horner, the Southern Area Blue Team has now taken over management of the fires within the Northeast Texas Fire Complex as of last week. They are also managing the Texas Initial Attack (IA) 2011 fires, merging the management of these fires with the Southeast Texas Fire Complex, formerly based in Conroe, Texas.
The Incident Command Post has been moved to the Texas Forest Service office in Lufkin, Texas. The Southeast Area Blue Team now manages the East Texas area from the Oklahoma border to the coast, with the exception of Galveston. On October 5, 2011, the Southeast Texas Fire Complex battling seven new fires on 15 acres in Nacogdouches, Newtown, Houston, Harrison, Cass, and Wood counties. The Texas Forest Service has a map showing the new management areas on their website.
"The Texas Forest Service office in Lufkin will be here long term, into December or longer," according to Horner. "Our focus is on handling these fires more effectively because this drought doesn't seem to want to quit. With this reorganization, we can streamline information on the fires. This could be important in the months to come. Although there doesn't seem to be much activity now, any little spark could start another large fire and we're just moving into the actual wildfire season in October and November."
Assistance for Texas Volunteer Fire Departments and Wildfire Survivors
In Texas, local volunteer fire departments are the first responders to wildfires. There are 1400 fire departments in the State of Texas and most volunteer firefighters purchase their own gear, equipment, and pay for repairs on their own, as well. Texans can support their local firefighters by donating to the Texas Wildfire Relief Fund or by participating in local fund drives.
The Central Texas Red Cross is also taking donations to assist survivors of the Texas wildfires.
Darla Sue Dollman - Darla Sue Dollman, BA, MFA, has expertise in classic films, the Old West, boating, and animals.
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