AUSTIN, Texas — The City of Austin and Travis County are under a wildfire disaster declaration.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson made the declaration during a press conference on Tuesday, Aug. 15. Watson said a disaster declaration helps the City better prepare for wildfires and wildfire damage and helps the City access resources during fires.
Watson is encouraging everyone to be extra vigilant during this period of heightened fire risk.
"The most important thing we can do today is to do everything we can to prevent a wildfire from happening," he told residents on Tuesday.
Area leaders are telling people to prepare for not if, but when wildfires force evacuations. In recent weeks, wildfires have burned hundreds of acres in Central Texas, and in some cases, they've destroyed property.
"People have lost their homes and had their lives uprooted because of wildfires already this summer," Travis County Judge Andy Brown said. "But together, we can help keep each other safe, prevent future wildfires, and be prepared as we can if they do impact us."
Leaders are asking everyone to avoid any activity that can cause fires, including lighting off fireworks, dragging chains behind trucks or not properly disposing of cigarettes. They're also telling people to prepare an evacuation kit now, so they can be ready to leave their homes at a moment's notice if there's a fire.
Leaders also say they're working to prepare evacuee shelter locations, just in case.
The declaration for Austin and Travis County follows Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's own declaration for the state. On Monday, the governor issued a wildfire disaster declaration for about 75% of Texas counties.
On Tuesday, Aug. 23, the City extended the wildfire disaster declaration for 120 days. City leaders said crews have also started going out to homeless encampments to teach people about fire danger and direct them to shelters if they can.