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Rolling Pines Fire Bastrop

2N2OUT

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Feb 17, 2012
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Super Dave
Another large wildfire in Bastrop. Texas Parks & Wildlife was doing a controlled burn and they lost control. 300 acres and growing.


 
TPWD is akin to Florida's FWC. Much on talk, much on law, much on regulation, not much on results. This is very disappointing.
 
What is it about that patch of woods?
It was just about where it did not look so burned anymore.
Hope everyone stays safe.
 
Interesting call to have controlled burns in an area without rain and experiencing wind gusts in excess of 30mph. That area can't catch a break. Our breeder lives a few miles north of town and they are evacuating, they are livid with a few of the local politicians that were behind the burn and are now talking in circles defending it, wild stuff.
 
Not sounding real good with a blue norther headed in today.

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Interesting indeed... not the most thought through course of action. Think this should cost some higher ups their job!
 
Interesting call to have controlled burns in an area without rain and experiencing wind gusts in excess of 30mph. That area can't catch a break. Our breeder lives a few miles north of town and they are evacuating, they are livid with a few of the local politicians that were behind the burn and are now talking in circles defending it, wild stuff.
People keep saying this and it's dead wrong. Local politicians and locals in general have no control over what Texas Parks and Wildlife does in THEIR PARK. Locals have no authority to even review their burn plan. TP&W creates the plan and burns. The ONLY thing TP&W does with the locals is tell them when the burn will happen.

Locals have little to no control over what the state does with it's land. The locals are the ones left to clean up this mess. The county fire departments are the ones they called for help, the ones that spent our time, tax dollars, fuel, equipment, etc... to chase down THEIR fire. W sent our crews to help. They worked close to 36 hours straight, as many were due to come off a 24 hour shift at 6pm last night.

Not the case here as there was no burn ban, but the burn ban laws in Texas allow for prescribed burns EVEN DURING A BURN BAN.

So please, stop blaming the locals for a problem Texas Parks and Wildlife created.
 
I realize that changing the plans of a bureaucracy is like turning a cruise ship but starting a fire during extreme windy dry conditions is unwise. There are days to burn and days when you absolutely shouldn't.
 
I realize that changing the plans of a bureaucracy is like turning a cruise ship but starting a fire during extreme windy dry conditions is unwise. There are days to burn and days when you absolutely shouldn't.
Except that it should be the case. Every Prescribed burn must have a burn boss. That's the guy that decided if, when, and what is safe to burn. He's supposed to be experienced and know better. TP&W claims the had 3 experienced burn bosses on the fire, but somehow between the three of them they couldn't make the right decision. Not to mention every firefighter on the burn is empowered to raise concerns. Frankly, having lead burns and been in the fire service for over 2 decades, the machismo, we got this mindset caught up to them.
 
Personally I have done hundreds of controlled burns and burn piles over the past 10 years, I would have never started any type of burn with the published wind predictions. I just don't understand how this one was ever lit knowing the winds were going to kick up like they did. Typically there are some smart people on these crews. Somebody really dropped the ball.
 
People keep saying this and it's dead wrong. Local politicians and locals in general have no control over what Texas Parks and Wildlife does in THEIR PARK. Locals have no authority to even review their burn plan. TP&W creates the plan and burns. The ONLY thing TP&W does with the locals is tell them when the burn will happen.

Locals have little to no control over what the state does with it's land. The locals are the ones left to clean up this mess. The county fire departments are the ones they called for help, the ones that spent our time, tax dollars, fuel, equipment, etc... to chase down THEIR fire. W sent our crews to help. They worked close to 36 hours straight, as many were due to come off a 24 hour shift at 6pm last night.

Not the case here as there was no burn ban, but the burn ban laws in Texas allow for prescribed burns EVEN DURING A BURN BAN.

So please, stop blaming the locals for a problem Texas Parks and Wildlife created.

We have done controlled burns over thousands of acres at a time here in south Texas almost annually and we would never elect to start one under the conditions that they chose here, this is a common sense game time call. Politicians or not, someone needs to answer to this decision, that area has been through enough over the years when it comes to fires and acting as if the choice made was a wise one is questionable at best.

And whether or not the locals there that I am friends with are wrong to be mad at local politicians and emergency management personnel is misguided it doesn't take away from their anger at the situation, their fear for their property and livelihood and the potential loss of everything that they own. At that point it becomes much more than just a choice to do a controlled burn by three idiots, it becomes a disaster impacting far more than just their egos. This isn't their first rodeo with this nonsense, they've been there their entire lives and so have thousands of others who are now facing the same possible outcome.
 
Believe, the local firefighters are just as upset. This sits squarely in the lap of TP&W.
 
What is it about that patch of woods?
It was just about where it did not look so burned anymore.
Hope everyone stays safe.
We went camping there two years ago and the land is still quite scared from that last big fire, while smaller trees have started to fill in some of the area, the loss of the oaks will take years to recover.
 
Still going.
TAMU Forest service reports 58% contained as of yesterday evening.
 
When doing prescribed burns in pastures we never move forward unless the wind is below the threshold, the humidity is over the threshold, and it's past the time where any temperature inversions could occur. But, if the conditions aren't right we can just postpone it until another time.
 
50% contained on the news an hour ago. About 800 acres so far I believe. They used to screw up in CO too with the controlled burns and I remember when they burned down a couple homes one time about 30 miles from my house. Most of the time they fail to do what they are trained to do in wildland fire fighting class S-131. Its study the weather, wind and natural conditions. Humidity, wind, temp, fuel moisture data. Nobody ever gets spanked over screwing up like this. They won't start now. Let the coverup begin.
 
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