Texas firefighters aided as winds slow; Bastrop fire 30% contained
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A favorable shift in weather conditions is giving Texas firefighters their first chance to make inroads against devastating wildfires that have been roaring across the state.
One of the state’s biggest fires, raging in Bastrop County, is about 30% contained.
‘We have 30% containment, which makes us all feel really, really good,’ Jan Amen, spokeswoman for the Texas Forest Service in Bastrop County, told The Times. ‘It’s the first day we’ve been able to say we have some of it buttoned up. We’re going to keep working at it.’
Winds from the remnants Tropical Storm Lee have been driving the flames across the parched state, where record drought conditions have been coupled with high summer temperatures. But those winds relented some late Tuesday and overnight into Wednesday morning.
‘The winds have slowed down some,’ said Melanie Stradling, spokeswoman for the Texas Forest Service who provided a statewide view of the fires, told The Times. ‘That is helping.’
More than 1,000 homes have been lost in dozens of wildfires across the state that have burned over 100,000 acres. Thousands of residents have fled to safety or have been forced to evacuate when their homes were in the path of the fast-moving inferno.
At least four deaths have been reported. And authorities warn that the death toll could rise as they begin to sift through the rubble and ashes for survivors or victims using specially trained dogs.
Firefighters from as far away as Oregon were coming in to help. The fires are being fought by land and air, as water-dropping helicopters and planes were pressed into service. President Obama has signed off on federal grants to help the stricken area, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency had begun assessing the damage to some of the hardest-hit neighborhoods.
It was also too soon to say when residents would be able to return to their damaged homes to salvage what they could.
‘No one is allowed back in at this time because of extreme danger in the area, from falling trees and power lines,’ Amen said.
While Texas got a bit of a reprieve at the more favorable weather conditions, it’s still far too early to declare victory over Mother Nature.
‘It’s still dry. Until we have significant rains, nothing is really going to turn the corner,’ Stradling said.
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--Rene Lynch
twitter.com / renelynch
Associated Press