Austin area fires

Glad to hear that it is still there to close on!

The number of homes destroyed by a Texas wildfire has risen to 1,554 and is expected to further increase as firefighters enter more areas where the blaze has been extinguished, officials said Sunday. Seventeen people remain unaccounted for.

Bastrop County officials joined by Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, sought to provide information to hundreds of residents evacuated from their homes a week ago when blustering wind whipped up by Tropical Storm Lee swept across parched, drought-stricken Texas, helping to spark more than 190 wildfires statewide. The worst of the fires has consumed more than 34,000 acres in this area 30 miles southeast of Austin.

Bastrop County Sheriff Terry Pickering said there was no immediate fear for the lives of the 17 people who remain unaccounted for. "They could have been on vacation," he said.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... z1XkbAm1g7

They are closing as we speak. texans won't let a fire slow them down. They pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.

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Here is a great video of crowning on the Salt Fire August 29, 2011, on the Salmon-Challis National Forest in Idaho.

[youtube:u65iwtm5][/youtube:u65iwtm5]

Holy cow....That is just down right scary!

Mitigation Measures:

Ensure firefighters have solid LCES established, are continually updated, and are clearly known to everyone in the vicinity.
Ensure that safety zones separation distances and size are adequate for 200-300 foot flame lengths.
As soon as crowning fire activity is observed advise firefighters to disengage and move to Safety Zones without hesitation.

Full Article

This was heartbreaking.

http://photoblog.statesman.com/dry-seas ... ht-of-2011

Certainly is.

The drought in Texas that has fueled wildfires, devastated agriculture and caused water shortages actually worsened in the past week while several other states also saw spreading drought, according to a weekly report issued Thursday. The forecast for three months out isn't any better: Texas was told to expect abnormally warm and dry conditions from October to December thanks to another La Nina weather cycle.

"Texas conditions continue to deteriorate what little they can from abysmal," the U.S. Drought Monitor stated. That was due to drought expanding into "the southeast, central, south-central, Big Bend region, and extreme south around Brownsville."

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And above normal temperatures are also expected in Colorado over the next 3 months.