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BASTROP — A Saturday afternoon blaze whipped by high winds near Camp Swift led to a call for residents to evacuate the area as firefighters and air crews fought to douse the flames.
At 3:55 p.m. March 8, the Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management issued an alert for The Mouse Fire, with temporary evacuations ordered for residents located in the 200 block of LBA Drive south to Moon Mist Drive.
No injuries have been reported in the incident, located east of Texas 95.
According to officials, at 6:20 p.m. “a bulldozer line has been created around the entirety of the fire. There are still active flames and spots coming from inside the perimeter. The area originally evacuated remains closed due to a heavy presence of large firefighting equipment on the roads.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, although one witness told the Courier he heard a loud sound like an explosion.
“I came outside on the porch,” said Elisha Gonzalez. “I (saw) a big fire. Boom! Big explosion. I got scared.”
Two structures on a single priority have been destroyed, and “embers from the flames are still spotting over the road into neighboring properties, which firefighters are patrolling for and extinguishing,” according to an official release.
Three single-engine air tankers were called in to disperse retardant around the perimeter of the fire.
Contained to about one acre shortly before 7 p.m., firefighters said the blaze was not growing.
In addition, the National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for Bastrop County from 5-9 p.m. Saturday.
Grab a copy of the Courier this week for more details.
