[Fot] Fwd: TX. fires

[tom strange]

I dont know what any of us at a distance could do to help, but our thoughts
are 
with all those in the area.  If there is something that the ones of us
far away 
could help with, dont forget to say so.
  That is what friends are
for....
 
Tom

http://www.fot-racing.com/spit/caption/tom_strange.htm


#4
white spitfire




________________________________
From: Duncan Charlton
<duncan.charlton54 at gmail.com>
To: fot <fot at autox.team.net>
Sent: Mon,
September 5, 2011 8:32:17 AM
Subject: [Fot] Fwd: TX. fires

We're about five
or six miles west of the one that started up in Bastrop
yesterday.  300 homes
lost as of the evening news time and the fire was 16
miles long and six miles
wide, but zero percent contained.  Winds did not drop
much last night and will
be back up today to 20 mph, no doubt with gusts
around 30 or better (44 mph
noted at the Austin airport yesterday and we saw
30 here at the house).  This
is courtesy of what's left of tropical storm Lee
(we're unfortunately on the
dry side).  Although the cold front that came
through last night should bring
cooler temperatures (yesterday was the 80th
100+F day this year, setting a new
record) the humidity is expected to drop a
lot, which is really bad news for
the firefighters.  We're in the worst
drought year ever recorded here (not the
longest drought by far but it is the
most acute) so standing trees are turning
brown.  At least half of Bastrop
State Park (Lost Pines) is burned up. 
Holiday weekend means lots of human
activity involving outdoor cooking and
alcohol + high winds + high
temperatures + low humidity = huge chance of
fires.  We heard that fires were
moving at 40 mph during the afternoon. 
Firefighters had to concentrate on
evacuating, not putting out fires.  We had
seen a thunderhead building to our
east so we looked at the radar and noted a
very strange rain pattern, starting
from a pinpoint at the north end and
spreading southward for many miles.  The
fire had already jumped the Colorado
River by then.  Strange in that it looked
just like a smoke plume starting
from a pinpoint source.  I didn't realize it
would show up on radar as a rain
shower if severe enough.  The cumulus clouds
were being pushed up by the rapid
heat production of the fire.  It's still
hard to get much information about
what's going on.  We do know that highway
71 through Bastrop is still closed
this morning but hopefully the other roads
towards Houston are open now.

The
sad thing is that this is just one of many fires in the area (there's a
pretty
big one not far from Lakeway). The fact that there's a holiday means
more
human activity away from concentrated work places, and therefore more
chances
of new fires today.  That and rubberneckers going into evacuated
areas.  It's
going to be an interesting day.  We have all our hoses and
sprinklers set out
and the spray tank is on the tractor to give us a little
edge if it comes
here.  We're out in the open and the cows and horses have
eaten the grass down
to nubs, so the main concern is the woods down by the
creek and the trees and
bushes along the road, which are all turning brown.

Duncan
1952 Morgan Plus 4
#6 red
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