Hays-Blanco county blaze burns 800 acres in drought-fueled outbreak of wildfires

At least six wildfires continued to burn Wednesday across the five-county Austin metro area, including a massive blaze charring a swath of Hill Country along the Hays-Blanco county line.

That wildfire, dubbed the Smoke Rider fire by the Texas A&M Forest Service, had burned 800 acres but was 50% contained as of 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The areas surrounding the fire are home to several wedding venues, such as Joell Ebbert’s popular Mae’s Ridge.

On Wednesday afternoon, Ebbert said the fire was about a half-mile away from her venue. However, she added that the winds were continuing to blow away from the venue.

“We just don’t want our couples to panic,” Ebbert said, explaining that this was the first time a fire has spread so close to her business. “It’s very scary, but we just want them to know that everything is fine and we’re safe and it’s all good.”

Five other brush fires also remained active across the Austin metro area:

• The Buda fire in northern Hays County that began at the end of July has burned 89.5 acres but was 95% contained.

• The Margarita fire that erupted this week in the western corner of Bastrop County has burned 96 acres but was 95% contained.

• Two more fires in Bastrop County, dubbed Unit 54 and Midnight, each burned about 5 acres in the eastern half of the county north of Texas 71. Both were 50% to 60% contained.

• The Sky Diver fire just north of Luling in southern Caldwell County burned 10 acres but was 98% contained.

What's the fire situation in Texas?

The forest service deemed the Blue Bluff fire, which burned 45 acres south of Walter E. Long Lake in eastern Travis County, to be contained. The Old Colony fire east of Lockhart in Caldwell County had burned 40 acres but was 95% contained. The rash of blazes in the Austin metro area comes a week after firefighters scrambled last week to douse the San Gabriel brush fire that burned nearly 450 acres near Lake Georgetown in Williamson County.

Back on July 22, the Texas A&M Forest Service said that since Jan. 1, the agency and local fire departments have responded to 6,809 wildfires that have burned 596,427 acres across the state. The forest service this week said that, on Tuesday alone, the agency responded to 26 wildfires that burned 3,593 acres.

"Fire danger persists for the Western/Eastern Hill Country, Cross Timbers, Rolling Plains and North Texas," the agency tweeted Wednesday.

Across the state, firefighting resources are being mustered to battle brush fires fueled by crispy vegetation struggling to survive the most widespread Texas drought in a decade.

As much as 99.2% of Texas was experiencing drought conditions, according to the latest data released last week by the U.S. Drought Monitor, a joint effort of the National Drought Mitigation Center, the U.S. Agriculture Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Texas drought hasn't been this widespread since January 2012, when 99.5% of Texas was in drought, from "abnormally dry," the lowest level of drought, to "exceptional drought," the most severe level on the drought monitor's scale.

The two most severe levels of drought — extreme and exceptional drought, typified by crop loss and extreme sensitivity to fire danger — now cover 60% of Texas. The Texas Water Development Board, which finances water supply projects, notes that the state also is seeing the largest extent of extreme and exceptional drought since January 2012, when such conditions covered about 62.5% of the state.

Drought monitor data also indicate that at least 22.8 million Texans live in drought-stricken areas and that 2022 to date is the state's sixth-driest year in the past 128 years.

According to the crop and weather report from Texas A&M AgriLife released Tuesday, "dry conditions made for extremely poor forage for livestock" in Central Texas and the Hill Country.

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"Hay continued to be imported to supplement livestock," the report said. "Corn and milo (grain sorghum) harvest was wrapping up with below-average yields reported. Hot and extreme heat was expected to continue through the week."

Of the state's 254 counties, all but 30 have imposed outdoor burn bans. In the Austin metro area, all five counties —Travis, Hays, Williamson, Bastrop and Caldwell — have burn bans.

What's the weather forecast for Austin?

Dangerously high temperatures remain in the forecast this week, the National Weather Service said in a bulletin Wednesday.

"Those with outdoor plans should exercise proper heat precautions by drinking plenty of water, wearing light-colored/loose-fitting clothing, and taking frequent cooling breaks in shaded and/or air-conditioned environments," forecasters said.

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Although the weather service's extended forecast for Austin calls for more triple-digit temperatures, it includes a slim chance of rain on Friday.

Thursday should be mostly sunny with a high near 104 degrees that elevated humidity will make it feel more like 109. Southerly winds of 5 to 10 mph that could have 20 mph gusts will bring moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, creating cloudy conditions in the evening that will help keep overnight temperatures above 78 degrees.

A 20% chance of afternoon showers appears in Austin's forecast for Friday. Otherwise expect mostly sunny skies and a maximum temperature of 100 degrees. Clouds will linger at night and help keep the overnight low temperature above 78.

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But forecasters also warn that "a Saharan Air Layer swell moves into South Texas at this time, which could result in additional limitations to rain chances."

Saturday has the best chances of having temperatures below 100 degrees, the weather service said.

"By Monday, the triple-digit heat comes right back to most of the area, but this heat wave looks to be less oppressive in showing only a marginal threat for heat advisory-level weather and humidity," forecasters said in the bulletin.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Hays-Blanco blaze burns 800 acres in drought-fueled wildfire outbreak