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except that one flood
San Antonio is always safe from the random bull weather Texas goes thru. Yay us.
except that one flood
Man - sad to hear that the woods near Bastrop are burning. Driving down 21 to CS and those woods were the best part. Its gorgeous there. We had our fire season in NM pretty much end but considering the largest fire in state history was just 15 miles from me and we could see the smoke for months (actually I think it may still be burning as there was smoke in that area last week) I know how much this sucks.
A lot of the US needs rain pretty damn bad.
PS some of you need to learn to ignore bad trolls.
Skyline of Austin with the fires close behind
The number of homes destroyed by a fast-moving wildfire in Bastrop County, Texas, southeast of Austin, has risen to 476, according to Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald.
Satellite images Monday showed the fire stretching over about 25,000 acres, jumping the Colorado River and a highway, the Texas Forest Service said.
About 5,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, and more evacuations are likely as the fire spreads, officials said. Hundreds of people are in shelters as dangerous flames keep them from finding out whether their homes survived.
Texas is battling its worst fire season in state history. A record 3.5 million acres - an area roughly the size of Connecticut, according to Texas Gov. Rick Perry - have burned since the start of the season in November as hot and dry weather, coupled with a historic drought, made conditions ripe for rapid fire growth.
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/05...oys-300-homes/
These are from Bastrop State Park:
These are from Bastrop State Park:
I was visiting some friends up near Borgfeld Rd this morning. The smoke on 281 was pretty bad for a stretch.
Yeah.....this is probably one of the best images out there besides the closeups. Puts things in perspective.Skyline of Austin with the fires close behind
Somebody please give that mouse-moose a tampon.
That many...
Things in my neck of the woods are just stupid right now. Fires everywhere.
Wonder how many were from cigarettes?
I love that drive. Wow. Terribly sad.
The fire in Leander today was three miles from my parent's house. Ashes were raining into their lawn. The neighborhood next to theirs was evacuated, but fortunately things seem to be contained now.
Also have a friend whose parents have already lost their home.
With no rain in sight, it seems like the whole gottamn state is going to burn down.
Sure looks like it...
Agreed.
I'm driving back this weekend. I wonder if I'll be able to drive through Bastrop or have to take another route.. Hopefully they will be able to contain these fires sooner than later.
I was on toll 130 and you could see the fire
There was a new one reported just a little while ago in Mustang Ridge, 130 and 45 SE of Austin.
I can't even imagine what those who have lost their homes are going through.
I know 3 people/families that I'm close with at work who live in Bastrop - all 3 have lost their houses/everything. All three had to evacuate with extremely little notice and essentially got nothing but their lives. Needless to say - pretty sobering.
Then I work relatively close to the Riata fire - my boss lives on across the street from it and had to make a mad dash home to grab the wife/kids/important stuff and get out. Fortunately since it was fairly urban, AFD was able to surround it pretty quickly and get it controlled. Also a little sobering to have the conversation with the wife last night to pack the important stuff "just in case"
I'm here in Dallas and you can smell the fire in the air. A real faint smell. Just hard to say which fire we're smelling.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Help arriving from other states now....good.
I don't care if she didn't HAVE to be there. But she shoulda gone back to Austin.
Austin fire chief out of town as wildfires raged outside city
By Tony Plohetski and Patrick George
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Updated: 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011
Published: 10:35 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011
As fires tore through hundreds of Central Texas homes, Austin officials dispatched nearly 200 of their firefighters to help across the region and issued an urgent request Sunday for 25 off-duty firefighters to report to work.
But Austin Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr stayed in Colorado for a Labor Day weekend golfing trip, leaving subordinates largely in charge of her department's response while keeping in touch by cellphone and email.
Officials said Tuesday that her absence from the disaster did not hamper firefighting efforts, which were coordinated by county departments, and that she remained involved from afar in her department's response.
A top assistant also said that Kerr offered early on to return and that he emphasized to her that the fire was not in the city's immediate territory.
Kerr, who was set to return to work today, said in a telephone interview Tuesday that she did not come home earlier because flames were not in the city.
"All of the fires are not in the city limits of Austin," Kerr said. "If the fires were in the city limits of Austin, that would have been a whole different thing, and I would have made my way back as fast as I could have."
Tuesday afternoon, several fires broke out in two subdivisions near Duval Road in Northwest Austin, but those were put out by evening.
Kerr's decision to stay on vacation has renewed questions among some firefighters — nine of whom reportedly lost their homes in Bastrop County, the hardest-hit area in the unprecedented fires — and from union officials about her leadership.
Kerr has already faced mounting criticism internally that has centered on the department's new hiring process, which has been plagued by a series of setbacks.
Bob Nicks, president of the Austin Firefighters Association, wondered why Kerr could not have ended her trip early and pointed out that Gov. Rick Perry left the presidential campaign trail to return to Texas.
"It's a 100-year event, with fires of this magnitude," Nicks said. "It would be better if the chief was here to at least provide guidance to the citizens" about fire safety.
He added that numerous Austin firefighters cut short their vacations and Labor Day weekend activities to report for duty when the fires worsened Sunday.
But City Manager Marc Ott, Kerr's boss, defended her, saying that it is possible for any city official — himself included — to be on vacation when an emergency strikes.
"In the chief's case, she has very capable assistant chiefs," Ott said.
Even though fires were not in the city until Tuesday, Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell participated in several news conferences throughout the weekend and issued a news release Tuesday saying that he had visited with residents, elected officials and first responders across the region.
"One thing became evident; whether the home address is in Bastrop, Leander, Pflugerville, ewood, Travis County or Austin, we are one community," said Leffingwell, who called on residents to donate goods to victims.
Leffingwell said an in interview that it "would have been ideal" for Kerr to have been involved in the department's response but that "she was very well-represented by her subordinates. I would be reluctant to engage in any direct criticism because I don't have all the details."
The fires, which began Sunday, had destroyed hundreds of homes and charred thousands of acres in Bastrop, Travis and Williamson counties by Tuesday.
Firefighters from county departments coordinated the response, but Austin Assistant Fire Chief Harry Evans served as the city's liaison with the county.
In that role, Evans said he helped figure out how many city crews to send to the fires while ensuring that Austin still had enough firefighters.
"I was in constant contact" with Kerr, he said.
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/...s-1824414.html
I'm at Overlook PKWY in North SA at the Regency APTs and looking out on my balcony I can see a allot of smoke that looks to be getting a little bigger. in the south western direction direction that has been going the past hour. I already reported it and I hope they can get it under control pretty quickly.
Here we go again, stay safe everyone!
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