evacuation

By Lew K. Cohn
Managing Editor •

Llano and Burnet County officials breathed a collective sigh of relief the afternoon of Aug. 26 after a weekend brush fire which threatened nearly 150 Horseshoe Bay residences was declared fully contained.

“It was a tremendous effort starting with the initial response from both Horseshoe Bay and Marble Falls fire departments and we could not have contained this fire without the help of all of our mutual aid partners who assisted,” said Horseshoe Bay fire chief Joe Morris.

“This fire burned right up to airport hangars full of multimillion dollar jets and burned right up to homes in several areas. It is amazing how much was done within a short amount of time and we were fortunate that no homes and no lives were lost.”

From Staff Reports •
Surrounding agencies are battling a brush fire which ignited mid afternoon Aug. 25 in an area adjacent to Horseshoe Bay airport.
The bulk of the blaze is on the north side of Texas 71 and moving northwest towards the airport.
"(The) fire started from a spark from a land clearing machine," Burnet County Judge James Oakley stated. "This is just how dry the fuel is and then with just a little wind, things can easily get out of control."
Fire officials have requested evacuations of residents in the path of the wildfire as a precautionary measure.
Burnet County Sheriff's Office dispatchers are receiving reports of billowing smoke seen for several miles and falling ash as far north as Hoover Valley.

By Savanna Gregg

The Highlander