Allison Meriwether, who has lived in Bastrop for a year, said she returned home Monday morning after being evacuated on Sunday—only to be told to leave again hours later.
“The fire wasn’t contained,” she said. “At 10 a.m. the wind picked up and kept shifting directions, making the fire even stronger; allowing the fire to spread.”
The Texas Forest Service (TFS) responded to 63 new fires on Sept. 5 that burned approximately 32,936 acres; including new fires in Bastrop, Travis, Henderson, Limestone, Caldwell, and Colorado counties.
The TFS is also battling existing wildfires and major fires in Palo Pinto, Briscoe, Coryell, and Montague counties. Only 3 of the 254 Texas counties do not have a burn ban in place.
“The fire is all over central Texas and there is approximately 1,600 acres in Bastrop with almost 400 homes affected,” Meriwether said. “The radar shows rain, but it is actually all smoke.”
Extremely dry and windy conditions are expected to continue to fuel the wildfires. Texas Gov. Rick Perry is urging all Texans to closely monitor conditions and reports, and heed all warnings from local officials.
Meriwether, sister of Epoch Times reporter Kristen Meriwether, said there were shelters in Bastrop where one could find refuge, but she is heading to Austin.
“It’s hard to get other resources as everyone is busy in their local area. I saw helicopters dropping water in several places.”
She said the water pressure had dropped since the fires started and officials have been advising people to boil their drinking water.
Gov. Perry renewed his emergency disaster proclamation for all 254 counties from the ongoing threat of wildfires across the state Monday—the ninth proclamation since the wildfire season originally started on Dec. 21, 2010.
He is also urging all Texans to conserve water. The drought has severely impacted water supplies across the state, resulting in the decline of reservoir and aquifer levels.
“In the midst of one of the worst wildfire seasons in our state’s history, all it takes is a single, unnoticed spark to cause a disaster,” Gov. Perry said in a press release. “I commend the ongoing efforts of our valiant firefighters, who continue to battle fires in defense of ranch lands, homes and businesses across the Lone Star state."
Gov. Perry also sent a letter to President Barack Obama in April requesting a Major Disaster Declaration for the state of Texas making the state eligible for direct federal assistance and emergency protective measures from the federal government, however, the Obama administration denied the governor’s request in early May.
An appeal was submitted on May 26 and partial approval of relief was received on July 1 and a request to expand the coverage of federal relief is pending.
The Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS), a network of Texas fire departments is activated to provide disaster relief to neighboring communities during the threat of the disaster. TIFMAS resources have been deployed to 13 command vehicles, 50 fire engines, and 121 personnel.
