AUSTIN, Texas — In a span of 24 hours, three fires broke out in Austin.
The most recent of the fires happened at approximately 11:30 p.m. Wednesday at a midrise building in the 200 block of Lavaca Street, not far from the Austin Convention Center. According to the Austin Fire Department (AFD), a kitchen fire caused cabinets to light on fire.
Nearby residents were told to evacuate the area. AFD was able to clean up the area, and no injuries were reported.
Earlier in the day on Wednesday, there were two other fires that AFD said were connected.
AFD said shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday, the department started receiving multiple calls about flames coming out of a window in the 2900 block of the South Interstate 35 service road northbound. AFD said when crews arrived, they discovered a 3-story building with active fire on its upper floors.
At 2:30 p.m., AFD declared the fire a third-alarm because of the amount of activity and the size of the area. Just before 3 p.m., the fire was upgraded to a fourth-alarm because units inside the Casulo Hotel, located at 3017 S. I-35, had active fire in the void space between the hotel's third floor and the roof.
A different fire also happened Wednesday in South Austin.
Fires have also been reported in other parts of the state. Wildfires that started Wednesday have continued to spread throughout the Texas Panhandle, particularly near the Amarillo area.
As of 11:37 p.m. Wednesday, the largest fire, called Smokehouse Creek, had spread across 500,000 acres in Hutchinson County. According to the Texas A&M Forest Service Incident Viewer, the fire was 0% contained.
That wildfire has been reported as one of the biggest in the state's history.