Skip to main content

The Bastrop Fire of 2011

Image
By
The ancient Lost Pines area of Bastrop County experienced a huge fire that was out of control for nearly two weeks in 2011.  This area of the state was in an extended drought and during this time high winds broke high voltage power lines at two points, resulting in the live wires dropping to the ground where sparks then ignited the underbrush.  The fire of the underbrush got out of control and the flames reached the tops of the trees and ignited the foliage.  For weeks after the blaze was finally extinguished, the fire was thought to be caused by careless acts, but an in-depth study showed that the fire was caused by the broken and downed powerlines sparking to ground.
The Lost Pines area is unique to central Texas because pines don't normally grow in this environment.  East Texas yes, but central Texas no, except for this area of Loblolly Pines that thrive because of the soil.  The soil is a red colored sandy soil mixed with red sandstone, all left over from when this area was on the beach when the Gulf  of Mexico waters ran far inland.The Loblolly Pine is a magnificent tree, growing to great heights with  a straight trunk.  The bark is even but patched in a pattern as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1, Bark pattern of Loblolly Pine

This tree is very tall, straight and therefore good for lumber.  When mature, the foliage is high in the tree and this allows the tree to withstand ground fires without being damaged or destroyed.  But, when the ground litter gets excessive, the fire can reach the foliage in the upper structure of the tree and then its all lost---especially on this day when the wind was so high and the drought made the needles almost explosive in the combustibility.
The fire raged for two weeks and burned about a third of this ancient forest of pines.  Below is an satellite view of the area of the forest with a superimposed area showing the burn pattern.  The fire went out after essentially running out of trees to burn. Many homes were burned several people injured and two perished.  Firefighters from other states helped control and finally extinguish the last of the ground fires after the fire in the treetops died out.



The fire was finally extinguished and then the recover work began.  Efforts by local people and the Texas Forest Service will play a significant role in the recovery, as will the forces of nature.  Already new growth is appearing with the new pine trees competing with new growth of oaks.
But it will be many years, maybe a hundred years, before this area even begins to appear as it did before the great fire of 2011. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Encounter in Blanco

By
 We often drive to Blanco to get outdoors and seek a cure for our cabin fever, to enjoy the local barbeque, and to hunt for books at the library.  We could get addicted to this if it weren't for some concern that this routine would lead to just another form of cabin fever. This time, we stopped for some gasoline and found the local people all in a buzz about the sighting of an extraterrestrial ship.  The first accounts were that it was all a hoax and then others came forward and told of the sighting which made us think that a mysterious ship did make a visit.  Nobody witnessed the craft's landing, but most sensed that there was some form of transport of a group of beings that somehow made the craft exit and then, without any commotion, they just melded into the mix of people of the area. Now that was a problem because we had always thought that ETs would not look and dress like us but instead have exaggerated bodies and some dress that suggested space travel.  W...
Post a Comment
Read more

Must be the Moon

By
It could be the phase of the moon, or it could be the combination of the moon and the fall equinox. but no matter what the cause, people were really talkative today, Wednesday the 28th of September 2022. We decided to journey off to Blanco because this small town, the ex-county seat of Blanco County is a friendly place and is the home of the Old 300 Barbeque shop.  I call it a shop because it is not really a cafe nor is it a restaurant.  It's just a place to buy barbeque plates or sandwiches and of course beer and the essential cobbler for dessert. Calling it a joint would be derogatory in our minds. We always opt for the pork loin sandwich that we share because one is too large for either of us.  We bypassed the cobbler because we had also planned to visit the gelato place on US281 that we had prospected for the last few years. We did justice to our sandwich outside on the front porch and made an offhand comment to an older fellow who was reassembling his leather get-up....
Post a Comment
Read more

Smithville, USA

By
 If you are not observant while traveling northwest on Highway 71, Smithville will be in the rearview mirror and so then you will have missed it all.  It's not on the main road but off to the south a block or so. We have driven past Smithville many times but this time, in order not to miss it, we decided to make that our destination. Smithville's main street runs parallel to the highway that runs north-south and therefore parallel to Highway 71.  Highway 71 connecting Houston with Austin runs on the north side of the Colorado River and Smithville is on the south side of the river.  This narrow separation from the main trunk line highway is what has spared Smithville from the ultimate doom of either death from isolation or ruin from big city influence.   We often travel miles and miles for a new lunch experience and this trip was no different in that it was a 90-minute drive to reach our destination of the Old World Bakery and Cafe.  The bakery part is ...
Post a Comment
Read more