Local Crews Help With Bastrop Blaze

A crew from the Winchester Volunteer Fire Department responded to the Rolling Pines Fire near Bastrop on Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 18.

Winchester Fire Chief Eddie Schneider said Smithville Fire Department requested mutual aid. Winchester VFD responded with three units and six firefighters. Schneider said Winchester crew reported to a staging area and served in a stand-by role.

“They were there in case they were needed somewhere else,” Schneider said.

The crew returned to Winchester around 9 p.m., Schneider said.

Schneider said on Tuesday he could see the smoke from the fire at his home on the Fayette-Bastrop County Line. By Wednesday morning, he said, the smoke was no longer visible from the Winchester area.

As of Wednesday morning, the fire burned 780 acres and was about 30 percent contained. Bastrop County Judge Paul Pape told reporters on Tuesday that the fire started from a prescribed burn at the Lost Pines State Park that got out of control. Pape promised an investigation, calling the mishap “unacceptable.”

About 200 firefighters from around the State were battling the blaze on Tuesday. Bastrop County officials evacuated several hundred residents. As of Wednesday, the Texas A&M Forest Service reported that the fire has not destroyed any “primary homes.”