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Over 60 wildfires raging in Texas

quakefiend420

quakefiend420

Lifer
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-texas-wildfires-20110906,0,4287589.story

I'm surprised there isn't a thread up about this already...

My house is safe so far, but about 30 homes were destroyed almost next door.

We've been evacuated from Steiner Ranch and aren't sure when we can go back.

Bastrop has been hit the hardest by far, over 500 homes and counting so far...if you're in Texas, start asking around, there's all sorts of things needed.

Our resources are stretched too thin, we've never had to fight this many fires on this scale before.

If the wind picks back up we'll really be in trouble...
 
They're starting to pop up in the San Antonio area. There were fires burning in Stone Oak yesterday, and also a small one in Selma - that's too close. No rain in sight but at least it cooled off a bit.
 
stargazr said:
They're starting to pop up in the San Antonio area. There were fires burning in Stone Oak yesterday, and also a small one in Selma - that's too close. No rain in sight but at least it cooled off a bit.
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I knew about the one in Stone Oak, but there was one in Selma? omg...
too close. And yeah, we can't win.

Hey New England, I hear you guys have some extra water on the ground, mind trucking it our way? 🙂
 
One started up yesterday in Grimes county not too far from me. Sky is still hazy from it's smoke this morning.
 
Sorry to hear about the fires. I hope they are brought under control soon. You guys would probably welcome a hurricane or tropical storm effect right about now.

BTW:
I am interested in why some do not see this as a sign from God that Rick Perry should not be running for President.
 
We have a wildfire nearby on Fort Hood that was probably caused by live fire exercises. Thankfully it's mostly contained and hasn't been a threat to houses.
 
Daily updates from the Texas Forest Service here:
http://ticc.tamu.edu/Documents/Home/tx_sitrep.pdf

Texas fire map here (GoogleEarth format) showing more recent fires:
http://tfsfrp.tamu.edu/Earth/Layers/TexasCOP.kmz

Random updates here:
http://www.wildlandfire.com/hotlist/forumdisplay.php?f=38

Texas has been burning pretty much continuously since at least March and maybe February. If you load the Google Earth file above and turn on the Other Layers>>2011 TFS Fires by Cause and run the time line animation it shows all the wildfires for the year. Be sure you zoom to show the whole state of Texas. It ends Aug 31 so the latest fires aren't in the animation.
 
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Scary stuff. It is easy to underestimate the heat generated from forest fires. Those fire fighters really have a seriously hard job to do.
 
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mediaManager


BASTROP — The most destructive wildfire on record in Texas showed no signs of slowing Monday, destroying 25,000 acres in Bastrop County and more houses than any single wildfire, according to the Texas Forest Service.

With more than 60 new wildfires raging across the state, including one that burned more than 210 acres in Stone Oak, Gov. Rick Perry left the presidential campaign trail Monday in South Carolina to address the public and organize requests for more federal aid.

More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed by the fires, more than all other fires this year combined have destroyed, officials said.
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Possum Kingdom is the closest area on fire right now. This has also been a record year for fires because of the drought.
 
I'm in East Texas.

Woke up to ash on my car this morning. Not a layer just flakes - not that it would stick. There was a smoky haze hanging over streets here in some parts of town. Love that smoky aroma though!

All weekend there's been palls of smoke drifting across the sky. One area nearby evacuated. It's horribly dry and Tropical Storm Lee brushed us this weekend, plus a cold front sailed in so it's been very gusty -- not good fire fighting weather. We got no rain from Lee, just cloud cover and wind.
 
mediaManager


mediaManager


A fire burns a home in Steiner Ranch west of Austin, Texas, on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 4, 2011. The fires are forcing evacuations in Pflugerville, Steiner Ranch and Bastrop County.
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I flew in through the Bastrop fire on Sunday, it was friggin huge. One of my coworkers got evac'ed from Steiner as well. The smoke over the city is just mindboggling...
 
BoomerD said:
As a homeowner, those pics are scary as hell.

Part of Oakland went through a major firestorm in 1991. Thousands of houses burned to the ground, quite a few people killed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_Firestorm_of_1991
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Yup. The first two houses I lived in as a kid burned during that fire. My mom had to evacuate the house she was living in at the time. I was living on the east coast and found out about it while watching football. Madden telestrated the fire, which made me first lol, then say "holy crap!" and try to call my mom to make sure she was ok.

That makes me wonder: around here, most wild fires are in steep hilly areas, with the canyons acting like chimneys to help the flame along.

In Texas, is this just big giant fires sweeping through wide flat open spaces? Or is the terrain helping the fire along? I ask because I've only seen flat parts of Texas.
 
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