Central Texas prepares for wildfire threat with expanded response

PFLUGERVILLE, Texas — Erichea Conti understands the full impact of a tragedy. In 2011, her home in Bastrop County burned down as fires quickly spread across the area. 

“I lost everything I owned. I was a single mom at the time with three kids and we had to pull it together and rebuild,” Conti said. “At the time, that was probably the worst moment in my life.”

For Bobby Ortiz, the battalion chief of the Pflugerville Fire Department, those fires in Travis and Bastrop counties were a “wake-up call” for people in Central Texas, a reminder that the potential for a wildfire disaster is real. 

“They always thought that we can’t burn like California can, but we have a lot of the same topography with the hills, the ups and downs,” Ortiz said. “Days like that where we have sustained winds above 30 mph, gusting of 50 mph, those are kind of, you know, the culmination of all of the same types of conditions.”

Ortiz says Travis County has all the resources ready, adding 37 fire engines, more than 30 brush trucks and seven water tenders. He estimates close to 100 more firefighters will be working in case of an emergency. 

While homeowners can be taught mitigation steps to limit damage to their homes, Ortiz is warning people to be careful outside. 

“Like burning outside, so having a fire pit or controlled burns where people have brush set out for them to burn and get rid of those fuels from their farmland,” Ortiz said. 

While Conti was able to move into a new mobile home months after the fires, she believes it is important for others to understand the implications of a disaster. 

“It’s dangerous, can spread fast. You don’t realize, it only takes a spark to get a fire going and it will destroy,” Conti said. 

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