Wildfire News Update

UPDATED 12.19pm Tuesday As the wildfires continue around Austin, the situation is starting to look a little less bleak but still horrific. Here are the latest available updates from city, county and state agencies.

Emergency Response and Preparedness

UPDATE 12.19pm: If you are looking for a useful one-stop information resource on the fires, visit the Texas Interagency Coordination Center at www.ticc.tamu.edu.

From last night: The Department of Public Safety has also released a handy and potentially lifesaving guide for what to do if you find yourself in the path of a fire. Download the PDF here.

Charities are still looking for help: You can find links and info on helping evacuees here, as well as needed resources for pets here.

City of Austin

UPDATE 12.19pm: The mandatory evacuation order for Steiner Ranch has been lifted. However, residents must present IDs at roadside checkpoints to gain entrance.

SH-71 has now been re-opened between the Pedernales River and Fall Creek. There are no other reported road closures in Travis County.

From last night: Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for parts of Bastrop, Cedar Creek and Steiner Ranch. Visit the City of Austin Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Measures website at www.austinhsem.com for more details.

Austin Energy

Power crews have been working all day to return power to properties in Steiner Ranch. As of late Monday evening, they were still making damage assessments before reconnecting 236 houses along Steiner Ranch Boulevard between John Simpson Trail and Epperson Trail, and in the Medina River Way and McNelly Trail area. Once the evacuation order has been lifted, anyone without power at their property should contact 322-9100.

School Districts

UPDATED 12.19pm: All Bastrop ISD facilities will remain closed on Wednesday, Sept. 7.

From last night: Bastrop and Smithville ISDs have closed all schools and all extracurricular activities will be canceled on Tuesday.

Leander ISD has announced the following closures:
Elementaries: Laura Bush, Steiner Ranch, and River Ridge
Middle Schools: Canyon Ridge, Four Points and Wilery
High Schools: Rouse and Vandegrift High School
All extracurricular and booster activities have been canceled.

No closures are announced for Austin, Eanes, Del Valle, Pflugerville or Round Rock ISDs.

Texas Parks and Wildlife/Texas Forest Service

UPDATE 12.19pm: Earlier optimism about attempts to control the situation in Bastrop State Park seem sadly premature. After additional flareups at midnight and 5am, only 100 out of its 6,000 acres have not been burnt. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department reports that its firefighters, assisted by federal firefighters and volunteers from local companies, are still fighting the blaze. Most structures have been saved, but two historic observation towers, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, have been damaged, and several TPWD employees in the area, including State Parks Director Brent Leisure and Buescher State Park Superintendent Cullen Sartor, have lost their homes.

The Texas Forest Service is offering assistance to people who have lost standing timber and wish to return their property to a productive state. Fill out the form at www.texasforestservice.tamu.edu to be contacted by a forester.

From last night: As of 9.16pm, TPWD staff fighting the fire in Bastrop State Park reported that the situation was "more favorable than it had all day" and that the park infrastructure may still be saved.