Heartbreaking Scenes
Gawkers a problem at Texas wildfires: "Utter devastation" of forest turnedmoonscape draws onlookers
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Gawkers are venturing into the burned out land to see it for themselves,creating problems for firefighters.Photo by Doug Shupe -
The Texas wildfires are anything but finished.
As firefighters walked into the moonscape that used to be 38,000 beautiful acres of Bastrop, they found damage far more extensive than first believed. More than 1,386 homes burned in the Bastrop wildfires outside of Austin, and officials say they are still counting.
"Utter devastation. It's heartbreaking to me as fire chief that on my watch, we lost this many homes," Bastrop Fire Chief Henry Perry told KXAN, Austin's NBC affiliate. "Can't explain it."
It's a wildfire that is still only about 30 percent contained. If there is any good news to be gleaned from all the devastation, it is that no more lives were lost.
That will not be of much comfort to the families of the two people killed by the wildfire. Michael Farr, a 48-year-old City of Austin employee, reportedly went back to his house after being evacuated. His body was found outside that home. One other unidentified person, unrelated to Farr, also died.
Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald has asked for patience from weary, displaced residents. "The most important thing we're fighting here is fighting to save lives. Respect your law enforcement. Respect your firefighters. Let them go in and do their job."
In Steiner Ranch, west of Austin, residents tried to return to some semblance of normal. School busses picked children up on the corner, parents went back to work, the Steiner Ranch Steakhouse opened. Still, normal is dependent upon your perspective. Fifty four families came back to damaged or destroyed homes. Firefighters were able to save more than 300 homes.
“We were really fortunate we could save as many as we did. We really wish we could have saved them all, we really do, it just didn’t happen,” Lake Travis Fire Chief Jim Lindardos told KXAN.
They also returned to a community eager to help. Volunteers drove up and down streets offering food and cleaning supplies.
The Moonglow fire in Leander, northwest of Austin, is now down to a few hot spots. Arson is to blame, and police are looking for four teenagers — two boys and two girls seen running from where the fire began near the Mason Creek subdivision. That teenage game resulted in the loss of 11 homes, with eight more damaged.
This video shows aerial footage of the fire spreading across Leander.
Thirty four homes burned in Spicewood, located in far western Travis County. That fire is completely contained and evacuated residents began returning to find whether they still had a home to live in.
As residents returned home, gawkers descended upon the scene of the fires, slowing their vehicles along busy streets, pulling over to park and take pictures and generally making embarrassing pests of themselves by getting in the way. Firefighters and police ask people to get over their voyeuristic desires and leave them to do their work. These fires are not yet extinguished.
To make matters worse, at least one firefighter witnessed a gawker flicking a cigarette butt onto the ground, an unfathomable gesture of stupidity (hot cigarette ashes start fire).
Donation drives and fundraisers are plentiful. If you would like to help in an easy way, donate cash. The American Red Cross can use it to buy exactly what is needed much cheaper than you can.
