321-acre blaze burning east of Inks Lake State Park
The orange glow of the Williams Road fire took over the night sky for residents nearby the blaze. Photo from Burnet County resident Roger Harrell
Dozens of firefighters have been in the field fighting the 321-acre Williams Road Fire in Burnet County since it sparked on the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 15. While the blaze is mostly contained, it could be days before it is totally under control, according to first responders on the scene.
The fire’s cause remains under investigation. No injuries have been reported and no structures damaged in the blaze. Nearby residents were prepared for evacuations, but none had taken place as of Thursday morning.
Every firefighting agency in Burnet County, a taskforce from Llano County, and the Texas A&M Forest Service have been involved in controlling the inferno.
The fire is burning in western-central Burnet County in the rugged hills northwest of the intersection of Hoover Valley Road and Williams Road, about 1.5 miles east of Inks Lake State Park. The Burnet Volunteer Fire Department, which is the lead agency on the scene, was toned out at around 5 p.m. Wednesday with reports of a “brushfire.”
According to the latest update from the Texas A&M Forest Service Incident Viewer, as of 8:39 a.m. Thursday, the fire is still burning but at 55 percent containment and stuck at around 321 acres.
Forest Service firefighter Collin Woodland explained to DailyTrib.com that “containment” refers to the level of confidence firefighters have that a fire will not continue to grow, whereas “control” determines whether or not a fire is completely extinguished. He attributed the fire’s rapid growth to dry conditions and its location.
“We really hit a super flash drought, in the 700-800 (Keetch-Byram Drought Index) range,” he said, referring to the KBDI scale, which is used to measure soil moisture and risk of fire. “All of the growth of this fire was due to dry fuels and topography.”
The 700-800 range is the highest, and driest, ranking on the KBDI.
Woodland added that once the fire reaches 100 percent containment, it will likely take days to completely extinguish it and confirm complete control.