Bastrop Fires of 2011
by Rick Turner
This was taken in late October~ this is the what remains of Tahitian Village today. A concrete bench and charred landscape.
Due to the ongoing exceptional drought conditions in most of Texas and the high winds brought to the state by Tropical Storm Lee, a series of wildfires flared up over Labor Day weekend and continued into the following week. The largest and most destructive was what is now known as the Bastrop County Complex. At approximately 3:00 p.m. (CDT) on September 4, two fires started north of Bastrop State Park in the communities of Circle D-KC Estates and Taihitan Village.[15][16] The likely cause of the blaze was sparks from electric power lines. 30 mph gusts of wind apparently toppled trees which tumbled into electrical lines at two locations, creating sparks that fell onto and ignited the dry grass and leaf litter below.
. By October 1, the fire had reached 98% containment but had burned a total of 34,068 acres and 1,645 homes, making it the most destructive fire in Texas history.[19][20] At 8:00 PM on October 10, the fire was declared 100% contained.[21]
Comments
6 commentsWent looking for this in M&N this morning and (surprise!) couldn't find it. Further tracking found it here, where I'm guessing based on the subject that you meant to put it all along. Sorry I didn't recognize that right off. Mark
I have a friend that lived fairly close to the fire. Luckily, his property was spared. I like how you placed the bench in the photo along with those yellow leaves.
Driving from Austin to Houston, my heart just ached as this is almost 4 years from the fires and it still looks like a war zone. Iremember back then as I drove through the area during the beginning of the blazes. Fire trucks everywhere, tents in temporary comman centers down the highway and pain and fear everywhere.