Official blames state agency for Bastrop wildfire
The Rolling Pines Fire in Bastrop remained quiet overnight Thursday and into Friday, with crews scaling back in size and numbers while still holding the fire at 70 percent containment.
The wildfire, which began Tuesday as a controlled burn in Bastrop State Park, was burning at 812 acres Friday, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. However, it is burning all in wooded areas and is not threatening any more structures or homes.
“We had a very small staff on overnight, and they didn’t report any problems in the overnight hours,” said Kari Hines, Texas A&M Forest Service public information officer.
All evacuation orders and road closures have been lifted.
Approximately 120 firefighters are on hand for the fire, as opposed to more than 200 at the fire’s peak. The Forest Service says it hopes to have the fire fully contained by Sunday morning.
“Crews will continue to monitor and patrol all lines today looking for any heat or smoke,” the Forest Service said in its Friday morning update. “Any heat will be mopped up to improve containment.”
The cause of the wildfire remains under investigation, although the Forest Service is now acknowledging that it was “human-caused.”
Bastrop County Judge Paul Pape said in a news conference Tuesday evening that the wildfire began as a 150-acre controlled burn on Bastrop State Park property. The Associated Press reported that some crew members saw flames burning outside the fire’s perimeter, which led them to believe some of the embers had been blown off course and ignited the blaze.
More than 250 families were evacuated from the fire’s path Tuesday afternoon, but they were able to return home by Wednesday as crews held the fire at bay.
In a statement released Friday
afternoon, Pape placed the blame squarely on the Texas Forest Service and said he was demanding a “full accounting of what happened.”
“To be clear, Texas Parks and Wildlife did not ask for our permission to conduct a prescribed burn this past Tuesday, nor did we give them permission to do so,” Pape said, adding that TPW is a state agency that conducts the prescribed burns under the direction of a “fire boss.”
No injury has been reported in the blaze.
No burn ban was in effect for Bastrop County on Tuesday, although the Texas A&M Forest Service tweeted midday Tuesday that wildfire danger was anticipated in the area due to “warm, dry and windy conditions” in the forecast.