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Firefighters are continuing to respond to Bastrop State Park after a blaze broke out late March 22.
Bastrop County officials with the Office of Emergency Management are calling the event the Spring Pine Fire, which has consumed at least 46 acres.
What we know
The Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management issued a statement at 10 a.m. March 23, when the fire was about 55% contained.
“Engine crews will spend today mopping up—an activity to extinguish all heat near the containment lines to ensure that the fire stays within them,” the statement reads.
With a wind shift forecasted for March 23, the Office of Emergency Management urged motorists along Hwy. 21 to exercise caution when traveling between Loop 150 and Norfolk Drive—a roadway that had an eastbound lane closed as of 10 a.m. March 23.
A Texas Parks and Wildlife Department helicopter conducted water drops March 23 on the most active areas of the Spring Pine Fire, according to the Office of Emergency Management.
How the fire started is still being investigated, Hillary Long, an assistant coordinator with the Office of Emergency Management, told Bastrop County commissioners.
What else?
During its March 23 meeting, the Bastrop County Commissioners Court unanimously voted to extend a burn ban through April 13.
“There will be unseasonably hot temperatures this week with no rain in the forecast,” Long said. “The fire danger ratings for the next few days are moderate to high. With this information, the fire chiefs unanimously supported extending the burn ban.”
Bastrop County outlined the following enforcement measures if there is an outdoor fire:
A full list of activities allowed and prohibited during a burn ban can be accessed on the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality website.
