A brush fire came close to a Hutto subdivision last Friday but took no homes or lives.
On Jan. 14, a brush fire broke out near the intersection of County Road 198 and Apache Pass. The blaze broke out around 1:35 p.m. and was contained by numerous agencies and departments by 5 p.m. No structures were hurt beyond small ember damage.
Williamson County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) deputies and the Hutto Police Department were first on the scene. Firefighters from Hutto and Thrall arrived to battle the blaze.
Officers who first arrived helped to evacuate nearby homes in The Lookout subdivision being threatened. Units from constable’s offices in precincts 1, 3 and 4 also showed up to help.
“The majority of the evacuation was done by a handful of WCSO and Precinct 4 deputies and Hutto officers, most of who had just left the fire at the recycle plant, going door to door,” said Lt. Mike Pendley, Williamson County Constable’s Office Precinct 4. “With the assistance of Williamson County Emergency Communications, they established an evacuation plan on the fly while fighting the fire with fire extinguishers and garden hoses.”
The recycling plant fire was another east Williamson County incident Friday at the Balcones Resources facility on Chandler Road north of Hutto and Taylor. The event was ongoing when the Hutto fire occurred.
The Apache Pass fire came almost within five feet of most homes. Wind direction and speed reportedly played a major factor.
“The neighbors really stepped up and saved their own property,” said Pendley. “Fire assets were spread thin and called in from the agencies.”
Travis County STAR Flight also flew in to help.
“They used their bucket to pull water from a stock pond located in the field,” said Pendley. “Flying in the high winds is already difficult, but the fire/smoke conditions made it even more difficult.”
Other fire departments who assisted in the effort were from Pflugerville, Round Rock, Travis County, Georgetown and Leander.
