451-acre wildfire near Liberty Hill 90% contained; flames came close to subdivisions
A 451-acre wildfire near Liberty Hill that came dangerously close to several subdivisionsand forced evacuations from dozens of homes over the weekend was 90% contained by Monday afternoon, officials said. There have been no injuries and no structures were damaged, said Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell.
Fire officials are trying to determine the cause of the San Gabriel wildfire, which started Saturday near Tower Road. Lake Georgetown remained closed Monday. The lake has been closed since Saturday because planes have been scooping water from it to fight the fire, officials said.
The fire damage could have been a lot worse, Gravell said at a news conference Monday in Liberty Hill.
The flames came within 300 to 400 yards of several subdivisions in Georgetown and the Santa Rita subdivision in Liberty Hill, Gravell said.
"If the wind had been blowing to the south, there would have been millions of dollars' worth of damage," he said. "This was a major fire in the middle of a largely populated area."
Gravell estimated the cost of fighting the fire at $1 million.
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Residents from 65 homes had to evacuate when the fire first began Saturday but were allowed to return to their residences a short time later, the judge said.
Firefighters are still battling hot spots and residents will continue to see smoke in the area for a few days, said Liberty Hill Fire Marshal Michael Dickens, who also spoke at the news conference.
The area is "critically dry" and residents need to be "incredibly cautious" about doing anything outside that might cause a spark, including parking in tall grass, welding and mowing lawns, said Walter Flocke, a spokesman for the Texas A&M Forest Service, which has been helping fight the fire.
The San Gabriel fire originally was estimated at 500 acres before officials could accurately map it, Flocke said.
Since Jan. 1, the forest service has responded to 6,919 wildfires that have burned 598,224 acres across the state, Flocke said. In the past week, the forest service has responded to 203 wildfires in Texas that have burned 21,043 acres, he said.
Central Texas has been experiencing record-breaking triple-digit temperatures since June with no rain in sight.
Crews from across the state fought the San Gabriel fire with about nine airplanes, two helicopters and five bulldozers, officials said. It was not the largest wildfire Williamson County has experienced this summer. A grass fire that started July 3 burned about 600 acres near a Texas Department of Public Safety training center southeast of Florence.
Williamson County has a burn ban that forbids people to start uncontrolled burns, burn yard waste or burn to clear land. Violating the burn ban is a Class C misdemeanor that is punishable by a fine up to $500.
The ban includes a restriction that requires a welder to have an observer in place, as well as to wet the ground and have water nearby, Gravell said. People need to restrict their burning even further, the judge said.
"Most fires are started by people," Gravell said. "There is no reason in this current climate to be welding outside, using a grinder outside or even using a fire pit."
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 451-acre wildfire near Liberty Hill, Texas 90% contained
