AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Fire Department (AFD) crews are responding to a grass fire along the railroad tracks on Walter Seaholm Drive Friday afternoon.
An AFD shift commander confirmed to KVUE that two units were responding to the fire near the city's Seaholm District.
Smoke from the fire was visible on the KVUE tower camera during our Midday newscast:
X, formerly known as Twitter, user Cory Long shared this video of the fire on the X platform:
At 11:51 a.m., AFD shared a series of photos of the fire, stating that it is burning along the railroad tracks on Walter Seaholm Drive, near Austin Energy's District Cooling Plant No. 3. AFD said the fire is under control.
The fire is near the Amtrak station in the area, but an Amtrak spokesperson said the company has already run its routes for Friday so the service is not being impacted.
It's not clear at this time what caused this fire, but all of Central Texas has been dealing with elevated fire weather conditions this week.
A Red Flag Warning for critical fire danger is in effect for Friday afternoon and evening due to breezy and dry conditions. The fire weather outlook for the next three days shows continued "high" to "very high" fire danger. Breezy conditions are expected to linger through the weekend, so it's possible additional Red Flag Warnings will be issued over the coming days.
All 13 counties in the KVUE viewing area are under burn bands, so any activities that could result in a spark are discouraged.
No additional information is available at this time.