Austin Texas, an urgent call for retired or volunteer firefighters is being asked tonight in wake of one of the worst fires to hit West Texas in over 100 years. Last night, local Austin Area Firefighters tried to contain a raging wildfire that engulfed thousands of acres of drought-stricken areas of Texas/ At least 476 homes were destroyed in a massive Bastrop County fire that raged into the second day after erupting on Sunday, said state officials on Monday.
The Austin area fire is one of more than sixty fires that have erupted in drought-ridden Texas from Possum Kingdom Lake in Palo Pinto County to a swath of Central Texas not far from the state’s capital city of Austin, At least 5,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Bastrop County about 25 miles east of Austin, and about 400 were in emergency shelters, officials said.
“I’m still seeing no containment,” said April Saginor, public information officer for the Texas Forest Service, who confirmed that the Bastrop County Complex Fire has scorched more than 25,000 acres, reports Reuters. 250 firefighters were struggling to contain this wildfire which is showing no signs of slowing down.
Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for various parts of Bastrop and also Travis County, where Austin is located. About 20 homes were destroyed in a fire that spread across 7,000 acres southeast of Spicewood, another Travis County community, said officials.
With this emergency an urgent cry for help is being called tonight for any retired or volunteer firefighter to come to the rescue. All heroes wishing to support are urged to call 512-978-1187