300-400 acre fire near Austin TX - 4000 homes evacuated

[banned from Kos]

http://austin.ynn.com/content/top_stories/

this is just the front page of an Austin newspaper web page. Its getting a lot of hits.

[rainbow4321]

1. Austin Statesman breaking news..requesting all firefighters report for duty

Like NOW.

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/blotter/entries/2011/09/04/fires_raging_throughout_centra.html

Pflugerville is being evacuated (just north of Austin)


God dammit...can Texans not catch a single break?? Hoping the winds are not as bad there as they are in the Dallas area. Temps are down but there is a strong wind with wind advisories.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. There is no global warming.

There is no global warming.
There is no global warming.
There is no global warming.
There is no global warming.
There is no global warming.


Never fear. Governor Goodhair will pray them out of this.

Except for all those liberal perverts in Austin, of course.

[Little Star]

2. Oh shit! That is horrible. Hope everyone stays safe. k&r

[rainbow4321]

5. “We being told there are no aircraft resources available, so this is a ground battle.”

From the Austin Statesman blotter in my above post:

“We don’t have any containment,” Durham said. “We being told there are no aircraft resources available, so this is a ground battle.”


Just great. :(

[Texasgal]

7. Too many fires apparently!

I've seen atleast a dozen helicopter flying over my house in the last half hour or so.

[Little Star]

9. OMG! This is sounding worse by the minute....

It sounds like Texas in in deep, deep trouble this time.

Keep us updated. My thoughts are with you guys.

[w8liftinglady]

10. because they are spent from Possum Kingdom

We had to borrow aircraft from California to help get Possum Kingdom 60% under control.

Texas is in a world of hurt...and no rain yet.

[madrchsod]

4. mother nature has not been kind to this country this year....

[Texasgal]

6. we are on fire!

It's all around us!

YIKES! I hope those folks affected are safe!

This is CRAZY!

[w8liftinglady]

11. let me know if you need anything!

[Texasgal]

15. Thank you sweety!

The catholic church up the street from me ( two blocks ) has burned although, not completely down. The smoke is thick over here!

I have my sprinkler on!

Other fires are away from me! I fear the worst for those folks out in Bastrop. :(

[w8liftinglady]

16. seriously,I have access to a pickup..and can be there in 4 hours.

I don't want you losing important stuff. Let me know.

[Texasgal]

17. We lost power for an hour

we are back on!

We are good, thank you sweety! I love your compassion! :)

[Melissa G]

26. PM me if you need a place to stay. It sounds like your home is not that far away n/t

[msanthrope]

8. I'm hoping everyone gets out safe. And quick! n/t

[DFW]

12. Texas is having one HELL of a serious drought

I'm glad to see none of the "Your deserve it because I hate Texas" comments.
This is serious stuff, and we will be suffering the effects for a good while.
The storm in the Gulf has brought some rain, but it's already too late for a
lot of Texas agriculture.

[w8liftinglady]

13. It is awful out towards Midland and San Angelo.

My kids just got back... it looks like a wasteland.

Dead winter...except with the heat.

[BNJMN]

27. Also: Remember to water your foundations. We just had a broken water line...

...from the drought causing foundation to shift.
Very expensive. For those out of range of the actual fire!

Hope everyone in the range of the fire is safe.

[southmost]

14. depressing,

we haven't any major tropical rain event this year, and our chances of getting rain are dwindling as hurricane season comes to an end, plus, it seems most cool/cold front come swift and dry

[starroute]

28. Hurricane season is only halfway through

And I've seen things posted at Weather Underground saying that the Caribbean and Gulf are likely to become more active in September and October.

So keep your hopes up. There may yet be some relief.

[southmost]

30. i sure hope so

[rainbow4321]

18. Update from Statesman blog: 14,000 acres, 16 miles long

“It’s catastrophic,” Stanford said of the Bastrop County fire. “It’s a major natural disaster.”

[Melissa G]

19. We are smelling smoke in South Austin now.

Have not heard of South Austin fires, so it must just be strong in the air. We were in North Austin earlier and did not smell any smoke though we were just down the road from Pflugerville. Anyone heard of south Austin fires?

[Texasgal]

20. slaughter lane at billbrook

chuch fire contained, but still smell smoke!

Far SW Austin.

[Melissa G]

25. North of you. Less smoke smell now. Thanks for the update. Stay safe!

We have relatives in Bastrop that have been evacuated. They have no idea how bad it is where their house is. It's all understandably blocked off.

Other relatives think they are safe because they are on the other side of the Colorado river, but I have since heard that the fire has jumped the river in some places. Prayers and good thoughts to all who are in danger and those fighting to keep folks safe. :grouphug:

[Texasgal]

32. Fire in bastrop 0% contained

400 homes lost, 5,000 evactuated.

Fires all over town, winds are making it worse.

Wish us well DU. It's gonna be a long day.

[TBF]

21. The wind has been fairly strong off & on the past 2 days in Houston -

they were warning in the Chron about fires. With it being so warm outside I'm sure folks are wanting to BBQ, and sometimes accidents happen. My heart goes out to the Austinites.

[Ilsa]

22. I was about to post that about the wind.

It's been bad all through south Texas the last few days. We are still running 100° every day, but it should cool slightly on Tuesday.we were supposed to get rain Friday, but we got nothing. Still hopeful for rain on Tuesday.

[Stinky The Clown]

23. My partner is threatened by these fires

They have one house in a development and one on Lake Travis. Both are threatened, but no evacuation . . . . yet.

[FarCenter]

24. Evacuations in Bastrop

14,000 acres burned in Bastrop. More than 300 homes lost, and there's still no containment. A mandatory evacuation has been issued for all circle D County -- all homes on Schwantz Ranch Road, Old Potato Road and all Highway 21 homes east to Paige. Also Wilderness Ridge, Cedar Creek, Allen Creek are also being evacuated.

http://www.kvue.com/

[rdking647]

29. current fire report

300 homes in bastrop lost
steiner ranch subdivision in austin evacuated 30 homes lost
another fire in spicewood and 2 in pflugerville

the bastrop animal shelter has been evacuated and all the animals are being brought to austin pets alive. they need dog/cat food and kitty litter
http://www.austinpetsalive.org
the also need fosters. they have waived all adoption fees

we smelled smoke up in leander this afternoon and again in south austin tonight

[tanyev]

31. Guess Perry's going to be looking for more of that federal money he wants Obama to stop spending.