Insightful, Residents addressing wildfire risks in Lake Travis, Westlake

This is a very insightful article By Rob Maxwell   of The Community impact Paper

While ongoing efforts to reduce the threat of wildfire  have been successful in reducing the wildland fire threat, there is still an abundant amount of natural fuels available to burn in the Lake Tavis-Westlake area, according to Chief Robert Abbott, Lake Travis Fire Rescue, also known as Travis County Emergency Services District No. 6.

The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center report for April, May and June is calling for hotter and drier-than-normal conditions across much of Texas.

“I see 2018 being a fairly active fire season. I don’t see it panning out to be like [the devastating Central Texas fires in]2011, but I do see it as an issue, something that we have to monitor,” Abbott said. “It’s our duty and our job to continue to remind people that this is a threat. We have to keep this [topic]at the forefront of everybody’s minds, or they’re going to forget it.”

Steiner Ranch fire

On Sept. 4, 2011, Steiner Ranch homeowner Norma Harais said she and her family escaped their house as they watched wind-driven cinders cross RM 620 and drift into the neighborhood they had called home since 1994. They were evacuated for three days, only to return and find their house was a total loss along with 23 others.

“We were the first to leave because [the fire]was right in our backyard at that point,” she told Community Impact Newspaper.

Harais’ advice to newcomers to the area is to remain aware of changing weather conditions and to prepare for the worst.

“[Remember to] clean up the fire hazards around [the outside of]your house; clean out your gutters; it’s basic stuff,” she said.

In Spicewood a fire that also sparked on Sept. 4 destroyed 67 homes and burned 6,500 acres. A Texas Forest Service report into the fires found no official cause for either fire. Earlier that year in April, the Pinnacle Fire destroyed 10 Travis County homes after someone left a campfire unattended.

Click this link to read rob’s full article https://communityimpact.com/austin/lake-travis-westlake/features/2018/05/16/residents-addressing-wildfire-risks-in-lake-travis-westlake/

Re blocked due to the insight of the article

The Community impact Paper

https://communityimpact.com/austin/lake-travis-westlake/features/2018/05/16/residents-addressing-wildfire-risks-in-lake-travis-westlake/

By Rob Maxwell   |  5:00 am May 16, 2018

This is a very insightful article

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