AUSTIN, Texas — Emergency officials in Llano County have contained a brush fire that burned around 700 acres of land near East State Highway 71.
Officials said the fire was sparked by an excavator.
Llano County emergency officials said that 10 agencies, including the Texas A&M Forest Service with air support and a number of local fire departments, have battled the blaze. The fire is now 100% contained.
Officials said because it was a fuel-driven fire, it spread much faster than normal.
“This was a fuel driven fire, and it was because of this heat, these 105-degree temperatures, you know, on the on the fire line, basically, it can make a normal fire move faster," said Walter Flocke with the Texas A&M Forest Service. "These grasses that are just in direct sunlight are getting critically dry, even though it may have rained, you know, only a few weeks ago really, that moisture is gone when it's this hot.”
The Texas A&M Forest Service requested aircrafts bring in thousands of gallons of water from Lake Buchanan to drop on the fire.
On Friday, they had three single-engine boss planes, one surveillance plane and one helicopter for bucket drops. DPS also had a helicopter there doing water drops.
Flocke said dropping the water would help keep the ground cool so crews could put out the fire.
"It doesn't really extinguish the fire, but it makes it a lot cooler and it helps the crews on the ground work around it and put in fire line," Flocke said.
Country Road 307 was closed as a result of the fire.
On Friday afternoon, Gov. Greg Abbott announced he directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) overnight to deploy additional state firefighting resources to support local officials responding to the fire. At the governor’s direction, TDEM has deployed the following resources:
- Texas A&M Forest Service: personnel; two air attack platforms; two Type 1 helicopters; three single engine airtankers; one large airtanker; and heavy equipment such as bulldozers; two Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) strike teams comprised of more than 30 firefighters and 10 fire engines
- Texas Department of State Health Services (Texas Emergency Medical Task Force): Wildland Fire Support Packages including paramedics and ambulances
- TDEM Emergency response personnel to support local requests for assistance
“I deployed additional wildfire response resources to further support local officials, emergency personnel and firefighters as they continue to respond to the Moore Peak Fire in Llano County. Hot and dry conditions caused by triple-digit heat across our state continue to increase the potential for wildfires. Texans are urged to remain weather-aware and take necessary precautions to keep their families, loved ones, property and communities safe. I thank all of our brave first responders as they selflessly protect their fellow Texans from these fires," Gov. Abbott said.
As of July 11, Mason, Llano, Hays, Burnet, Blanco, Caldwell and Fayette counties are under burn bans indefinitely. Fines of up to $500 could be issued for burning. Burn ban information is updated daily on the Texas A&M Forest Service website.