Lost Creek at serious risk of wildfire, field experts say

A fire assessment conducted by Texas A&M University revealed the Lost Creek neighborhood displays characteristics that make it a serious wildfire risk, said Paul Schumann, a Lost Creek resident who presented the findings Dec 1. 

“Fortunately, we haven’t had any wildfires down in this area,” he said. “That’s good and bad because fires can help clear out dying brush, and if you don’t keep it clean that’s a lot of fuel waiting to be burned. Thankfully the rain we’ve had this year gives us some time to prepare for the next severe drought.”

The majority of Lost Creek homes are on land classified as wildland urban interface, or WUI, where properties abut wildland fuels such as dead brush that make the areas prone to fire, Schumann said. Many of these homes also border the Barton Creek Wilderness Area, protected land that further restricts a homeowner’s power to protect his or her property, Schumann said.

The area also has an abundance of surface fuels, a fast rate of potential wildfire spread and could experience high fire intensity if a fire were to start, he said. About 80 percent of burnable land in Lost Creek was more prone to canopy fires, which burn the entire tree and are more dangerous, than surface fires, which burn brush on the ground and leave the soil in healthy condition, he said.

The surrounding canyons, greenbelts and wildlands resulted in a poor dozer rating, meaning there are significant limitations when it comes to operating bulldozers and plows for fire prevention, Schumann said.

Wildfire risk has been a topic in the community for a long time, but there has not been much action by residents to find solutions, he said. Before Lost Creek was annexed by Austin on Dec. 15, 2015, Lost Creek’s municipal utility district, or MUD, enrolled the community in Firewise’s community designation program. The MUD implemented Firewise measures around its facility to reduce its vulnerability, but that is one of many steps private residents should be taking, Schumann said.

By bringing more awareness to the issue through community workshops, forums, and social media, Schumann said he hopes the community can develop fire-mitigation and fire-evacuation plans.

Schumann said about 40 Lost Creek residents asked the city of Austin to perform fire inspections on their properties and received tips about defending their homes after his latest wildfire presentation. However, that is still a small percentage of the 1,200-homes in the at-risk community, he said.