July 19 -- Two Hill Country brush fires have burned nearly 2,300 acres since Tuesday, but so far no injuries have been reported and no structures have been damaged, fire officials said.
But emergency vehicles involved in fighting the fires are facing a crisis of their own: They’re running out of gas.
The Llano County Office of Emergency Management is asking the public to donate 500 gallons of gasoline in 5-gallon jugs because fire crews “are unable to get an expected gasoline delivery.”
According to the agency’s facebook post, crews must have 500 gallons of gas by 9 a.m. Thursday for the vehicles that are about to begin daylight operations.
If you want to help, the agency asks that you drop off containers with regular unleaded gas at the Llano Volunteer Fire Department next to City Hall in Llano and they will get the gas to firefighters.
“You can tape your name and phone number to it and we will do our best to return it to you,” the agency said.
The first fire was reported in northern Blanco County on Tuesday around 5:20 p.m. Flames jumped RR 962 to reach into Llano County near Horseshoe Bay.
As of early Thursday, the fire had burned 775 acres and 45 percent contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service and Blanco County Emergency Management officials.
A second brush fire was reported Wednesday afternoon in Llano County. It quickly spread to 1,500 acres by nightfall, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
As of Thursday morning, the fire on County Road 308 in Llano County was only 15 percent contained, the forest service said.
The fire has not burned any structures, but 10 homes are nearby, said Kari Hines, a spokeswoman for the forest service. The Austin Fire Department and other state and county resources are in the area to make sure that none of the houses is burned, she said.
No evacuations have been ordered, officials said.
Hines said it is not clear what caused either fire but a human cause is likely since no lightning strikes or severe weather have been reported in the area.
“Anything that provides a spark in this weather can produce a wildfire,” she said.
Both Llano and Burnet counties are under a burn ban.
___ (c)2018 Austin American-Statesman, Texas Visit Austin American-Statesman, Texas at www.statesman.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
