Drought Conditions Fuel Extreme Wildfire Season

A brush fire in Cedar Park destroyed one apartment building, damaged others and prompted evacuations. The blaze charred about 50 acres along Highway 183 northwest of Austin. (Photo by Jana Birchum)

As Austin entered Stage 2 drought restrictions Tuesday, the city and county simultaneously issued a disaster declaration for critical wildfire risk. The declaration, which follows Gov. Greg Abbott's statewide one Monday, unlocks further resources and staffing, allows the mayor and county judge to take quicker actions, and sets up evacuation protocols. In a press conference, Travis County Judge Andy Brown said the Travis County Expo Center is already set up with cots and water, and the county is coordinating with Red Cross and Austin Disaster Relief Network on supporting emergency shelters if needed. Wildfire teams are focused on relocating people to temporary shelters from homeless encampments – more than 70 people from the West Bouldin Creek area have already been relocated to the Southbridge Shelter.

"We're asking people to take action to prevent something bad from happening," said Mayor Kirk Watson. City and county officials urge people to be safe rather than sorry, not to discard cigarettes, not to mow lawns, and not to do outdoor grilling. Austin ranks sixth in the nation for cities with wildfire risk – after five in California – and 90% of wildfires are preventable and caused by humans. Many recent fires, including the Oak Grove fire that burned 400 acres in San Marcos last week, were started by outdoor equipment use, including welding.

Thus, officials are stressing preventive measures. You can see current conditions of your location at wildfire-austin.hub.arcgis.com, and learn how to prepare yourself for fire at atxwildfire.com and readycentraltexas.org. If you have physical disabilities, sign up for the State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry, which provides first responders with info about where you are and what you need in advance of a wildfire evacuation. You can also sign up for warncentraltexas.org and choose wildfire as one of the alerts you want to receive as a text message. "Now is the time for everyone to prepare for not if but when it happens," warned Austin Fire Department Chief Joel Baker.

These conditions are likely to continue for a while: On Monday, the Texas A&M Forest Service predicted a potential for "significant wildfires that may be resistant to control" lasting all week. Extreme drought and hot temperatures led last week to the Cedar Park fire that destroyed homes in the Silverado and Whitestone Landing apartment complexes on West Parmer Lane. And that risk is spread across the state, with 181 counties under burn bans and high winds speeding up a fire's rate of spread.

"We generally do have a summer season and an early winter season, but this one, with the drought conditions we have, is a little bit more intense," said AFD Wildfire Division Chief Carrie Stewart. "Whereas a smaller fire might be something that we could easily control, with these conditions, it could be something that moves quicker than we're used to seeing." AFD is using mutual aid, or interlocal agreements with other fire departments in nearby jurisdictions, to share resources, and the Forest Service and other state agencies are sending equipment like bulldozers to clear lines of brush that fires could travel along.

"This is not ending this week, not ending next week," said Brown. "It will rain eventually but not yet, so do everything you can to keep us safe."