Perilous
Times
Raging Texas Wildfire destroys 1,554 homes; 17 people
missing
BASTROP, Texas (AP) – The number of homes destroyed by a Texas
wildfire has risen to 1,554 and is expected to further increase as
officials enter more areas where the blaze has been extinguished,
officials said Sunday. Seventeen people remain unaccounted for.
By Sarah A. Miller, The Tyler Morning Telegraph, via AP
A fire burns on Saturday in the wooded lots west of Hawk Road near
Diana, Texas.
Bastrop County officials joined by Democratic U.S. Rep. Lloyd
Doggett sought to provide new 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.
While sharing the bad news that the tally of destroyed homes will
increase, officials also told some 100 residents who gathered at a
news conference on Sunday that people would begin going back into
the scorched areas on Monday. A detailed plan will allow residents
to slowly enter the evacuated areas over the coming week as
firefighters and emergency responders ensure the land has properly
cooled, hotspots are extinguished and the blaze is contained.
Tensions and frustrations boiled over at a similar gathering on
Saturday when residents demanded to be allowed to return to their
neighborhoods to see what remains of their homes and attempt to
salvage a few belongings. Many people were given only minutes to
evacuate as the raging blaze surrounded homes and neighborhoods.
Some had time to only gather a few important belongings. Others
left with only the clothes on their back.
Still, Bastrop County Sheriff Terry Pickering said the 17 people
unaccounted for may simply be out of town.
"They could have been on vacation," he said.
The federal government on Friday declared Texas a disaster area,
paving the way for individuals to get financial aid. Doggett said
the Federal Emergency Management Agency will incur 75% of the
costs of fighting the fires, and families will be eligible for up
to $30,000 to pay for expenses not covered by insurance policies,
such as hotel bills, temporary housing and even construction
costs.
"The $30,000 can only go so far toward the expenses that some of
you have," Doggett said. "But I think it can be a lot of
assistance."
On Monday, schools will open for the first time since the Bastrop
blaze erupted. So many people are living in the town's Super 8,
Best Western and Holiday Inn that school buses will stop at all
three.
County emergency management director Mike Fisher said the Bastrop
blaze is now 50% contained.
North of Houston, meanwhile, firefighters say a tri-county blaze
that has consumed more than 20,000 acres and destroyed nearly 60
homes is also half contained.