Posted on 09/04/2011 5:46:33 PM PDT by grey_whiskers
UPDATE 7:30 P.M.: Mark Stanford, the fire chief for the Texas Forest Service , said subdivisions have been evacuated there but they have no estimate on what structures have been lost.
People are being told to evacuate to the First Baptist Church in Smithville and Bastrop Middle School, Stanford said.
In addition, State Highways 71 and 21 in Bastrop County have been closed, Stanford said.
Update, 6:48 p.m.: Wildfires have consumed more than 6,000 acres in Bastrop County, and firefighters are still working to get the blazes under control.
According to Bastrop Police Department Spokesman Michal Hubbard, hundreds of homes have been evacuated, including those at the Colony, west of the city of Bastrop, and Tahitian Village to the east. Several structures have been lost, he said
(Excerpt) Read more at statesman.com ...
It was very windy here when the front came through Saturday night - not a good thing when fighting fires - hope the winds calm down soon down south of here - they died down here after about an hour.
It was 58 degrees this morning, a beautiful day, and forecast through next week predicts temps in the 80’s, partly cloudy, but not a great chance of rain. But sometimes we get scattered showers.
Truly hope this may be the beginning of some major weather change for all of Texas and that you can cool off more soon.
Thanks for the link.
Losing one’s home is devastating..Prayers for your friend, family and all in harm’s way.
Amen
I'm praying for y'all, as well!
Experienced fires several years ago....understand my heart and prayers are with the whole great state of Texas!!
Thank you. And Amen.
Thank you, pam..Those high winds yesterday caused me some inconvenient power loss..but were devastating in spreading these fires.
Neighbor just said her son has a place near Smithville (Bastrop side of Austin). Fires were within two miles of the house. The people that live there have been evacuated.
Guess we could have the refineries cut off the fuel and start pumping salt water north. ;)
Thanks for the ping!
Thank you, yorkie.
“Amazing...media has only focused on fires...Sunday.” Actually, there has been TV reporting on MSM in the mid-Atlantic area several times in the past months. Of course, for the moment our 100 year earthquake and Irene have drawn much more attention.
Blackhawks are being deployed to Bastrop
It’s because we’re conservatives here in Texas...the Texas economy and jobs the left aren’t happy with. You’d think they’d be more than happy to report the bad news of the Texas wildfires. When IKE hit us here in southeast Texas...there wasn’t the coverage like the coverage with Katrina. Tables will be flipped sooner than they’d like to think.
I believe this drought and the Texas heat has all been man made by the criminals who occupy our WH.
Perry is all over this...bringing in Blackhawks...to help the people...now we need aircraft who can start fighting the fires.
Look on the bright side. 
That photo was taken 35-40 miles from the Station Fire in 2009 in L.A., the mountains just below the smoke plume are in the 5-6,000 foot range, which puts it into perspective. Never seen anything like it.
Had there been strong winds, half the city would have gone up. Prayers up for calm winds and rain, Texas!
If the 11 year sunspot cycles which seem to have an 88 year extreme cycle are operational, then you should check out your local conditions from 88 years ago, plus or minus 5 years. This, of course, gives us the time of the great Dust Bowl era. Saw some seriously dust bowl like TV film on Phoenix AZ a while ago. Check your local news archives and tell us what you find.
New fires breaking out in the austin area
other older fires now spreading again
As of about 10:30 a.m, the fire in Bastrop has burned between 14,000 and 25,000 acres, officials say. The fire in Steiner Ranch is about 20 percent contained, as of 12:15 p.m. Another fire, near Pedernales Bend, is about 80 percent contained. Above: Fire nears a home near the Tahitian Village neighborhood in Bastrop. UPDATED 12:45
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