Monster Texas Wildfire Rages Out Of Control

Monster Texas Wildfire Rages Out Of Control

BASTROP, Texas — A roaring wildfire raced unchecked Monday through rain-starved farm and ranchland in Central Texas, destroying nearly 500 homes during a rapid advance fanned in part by howling winds from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee.

At least 5,000 people were forced from their homes in Bastrop County about 25 miles east of Austin, many of them fearing the worst while spending the night in emergency shelters. Huge clouds of smoke soared into the sky and hung over downtown Bastrop, a town of about 6,000 people along the Colorado River.

The blaze consumed as much as 25,000 acres along a line that stretched for about 16 miles, Texas Forest Service officials said.

It destroyed 476 homes and about 250 firefighters were working around the clock, using bulldozers and pumper trucks against the fire, Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald said.

Mike Fischer, the county emergency management director, said the fire is "nowhere near controlled," and that a separate, smaller blaze south of the city is growing larger.

"I wasn't going to evacuate, but then the smoke got blacker and blacker and it was like: 'OK, time to go,'" said Gina Thurman, 47, an analyst for the Texas Workforce Commission.

"Waiting is the most frustrating thing," she said, choking back tears as she sat by herself in the shade on a curb outside Ascension Catholic Church, one of several shelter sites. "You're sitting there and you don't know anything but your house is probably burning."

Rick Blakely, 54, said when it finally would be time to return home, "I'm not expecting anything to be standing."

He was among about 30 people who slept on cots at the church.

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[ExTREMEHSMACHINE]

How do you do your video editing? What programs do you use?

[filmwave]

@ExTREMEHSMACHINE To make this video I used a progam called Crazytalk Animator

[TheLexman101]

@als3901 yes its in san bernardino in 2003 old fire like i said i saw it

[TheLexman101]

that picture you see is the san bernardino old fire i was in that fire i live there

[45leavitt]

this guy has no clue what he is talking about.

[als3901]

i was in that fire and thats not bastrop wow!!!!!!



[selenagomezffaann]

this is wierd but freakinn sad



[champwagner]

@mySYNZnotmytradgidy lol karma speaking of way off subject i was like 12 and shot a squirrel with a pellet gun ran out of those so loaded a bb and shot a plastic bottle and i must have hit it just wrong on the cap becuse it hit me about a 8th a inch under my tearduct well never harmed another animal karmas just being dumb and then eventualy you get to comfortable and it backfires anyways oh yeah fires that is typical bastropian teens probably out there they have nothing to do

[crowetex]

@ Daggers4us, you must live under a rock.

[cyaniide86]

There is a lot of "evacuation" talks all over, don't be surprised if you see fema out soon.