A big grass fireplace, which destroyed some constructions and prompted evacuations on the outskirts of Fredericksburg, is displaying indicators it is slowing down, officers mentioned.
Excessive winds, scorching temperatures and low humidity ranges helped the Crabapple fireplace, about 10 miles northeast of Fredericksburg, shortly develop to 400 acres on Saturday afternoon. The blaze then jumped east throughout State Freeway 16 inside three hours. By Saturday night it had impacted 8,640 acres. On Sunday afternoon, the Texas A&M Forest Service reported the fireplace was 40% contained and that “exercise is minimal.” No deaths or accidents have been reported.
In a social media submit, Gillespie County sheriff Chris Ayala mentioned some residents had “skilled lack of property and houses.” Roughly 10 households had been evacuated in a rural space that was affected by the fireplace, in line with Texas A&M Forest Service spokesperson Kiley Moran. Additional evacuations usually are not anticipated, he mentioned.
“The hearth is just not beneath management, but it surely’s undoubtedly calming down” Moran mentioned.
A lot of the blaze’s northern border has been contained, and the rest of the fireplace is being fought by plane dropping fireplace retardant and water from the sky whereas bulldozers clear brush and create a containment perimeter across the fireplace, he mentioned.
Sturdy winds are pushing smoke and ash from the Crabapple Hearth close to Fredricksburg east towards Austin, in line with the Nationwide Climate Service, on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
Officers started investigating the fireplace’s trigger and assessing reported construction injury Sunday, Moran mentioned.
Sturdy winds helped push ashes and smoke from the fireplace 80 miles east Saturday, making the skies hazy and smoky, and briefly affecting the air high quality in Travis County and surrounding areas.
An elevated fireplace menace is anticipated all through Central Texas till Thursday, the Nationwide Climate Service’s Central Texas workplace mentioned. Heat temperatures coupled with gusty winds as much as 35 mph might assist unfold any fires that start, the climate service mentioned, and make them laborious to regulate. Smoke from the Crabapple fireplace may also have an effect on air high quality in surrounding counties for a number of days.
Officers inspired Gillespie County residents to keep watch over the Gillespie County sheriff’s office Facebook page and the Fredericksburg Fire Department’s Facebook page for extra updates.
This text initially appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 8,640-acre wildfire outside Fredericksburg is ‘calming down’
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