9 homes destroyed as crews continue to battle 9,700-acre wildfire near Fredericksburg

AUSTIN, Texas — Fire crews in Gillespie County, along with the Texas A&M Forest Service, are continuing to battle a 9,737-acre wildfire north of Fredericksburg that sparked on Saturday afternoon.

According to Gillespie County officials, the fire – named the Crabapple Fire – started in the 8700 block of Lower Crabapple Road at around 1 p.m.

By 4:20 p.m. Saturday, the fire had jumped across North State Highway 16 and was headed toward FM 1631.

As of 8:30 p.m. Monday, the fire is 85% contained and is estimated at 9,7370 acres – an increase from the 8,640 acres estimated on Saturday due to better mapping. The affected area stretches from Lower Crabapple Road to FM 1631.

According to officials, there are currently no concerns about air quality.

“Today was a challenging day with the wind conditions as we knew it would be,” Fredericksburg Fire Chief Lynn Bizzell said on Monday evening. “Our crews helped with flare-ups throughout the affected area. Unfortunately, wind conditions are not forecasted to improve until later in the week.”

Bizzell said crews are encouraged by the level of containment, but with the weather conditions things can change quickly. 

One firefighter was taken to a hospital after a tree limb fell on top of him, but he has since been released. No additional injuries have been reported, but numerous structures have been lost.

According to the Texas A&M Forest Service and the Texas Division of Emergency Management, nine total residences were destroyed, including seven possibly occupied and two confirmed unoccupied, and two residences were damaged. Twenty outbuildings were destroyed, while four outbuildings were damaged.

“These damage assessment numbers, unfortunately confirm what our crews were seeing on the ground,” Bizzell added. “You hate to lose any structure, and our thoughts are with those that lost property. Structures were our priority from the start of the fire and without the efforts of our crews the numbers could have been much higher, but unfortunately, we could not save everything.”

Anyone located in the areas between State Highway 16 North and FM 1631 and between Ranch Road 1323 and Ranch Road 2721 has been advised to evacuate. As of 4 p.m. Monday, a shelter that was set up at Zion Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg has closed and all evacuees have left. Officials do not have an estimation on the people evacuated or displaced at this time.

All roads that were previously closed have since reopened, according to a Fredericksburg official. 

Previously, the fire caused two road closures:

• State Highway 16 North, from Knopp School Road to Eckert Road
• Eckert Road, from Lower Crabapple Road to State Highway 16 North.

Gillespie County Judge Daniel Jones has issued a disaster declaration, which allows officials to evacuate, close roads and control ingress and egress as needed.

According to the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the state has deployed 750 responders and 300 pieces of equipment to help battle the fire.

On Sunday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved the state’s request for Fire Management Assistance Grants for the Crabapple fire. The approval of the grants makes Texas eligible for 75% reimbursement from the federal government for costs associated with fighting the Crabapple fire and Rest Area fire, which is currently active in the Texas Panhandle. Abbott also said that the Texas Military Department is assisting in the firefighting efforts.

For those who would like to help, donations are being directed to the Crabapple Fire Relief Fund.

The fire has also impacted local ranchers and livestock owners in Gillespie County. To aid recovery, a livestock supply point at Gillespie County Fairgrounds (530 Fair Drive in Fredericksburg) is collecting hay, feed and fencing supplies for affected cattle, sheep and goats. It is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Donations can also be facilitated by Behrends Feed & Fertilizer, Lochte Feed and General Store, Kerrville Ranch & Pet Center and Allied Ag Services Inc. For questions, call 830-988-6173.

On Saturday, it was an uphill battle for firefighters as the wind-whipped wildfire tore across Hill Country. Embers from the fire were flying up to a half-mile away and sparking new fires.

“I saw that black smoke coming, and I thought, ‘Oh, that don’t look good,'” said Margaret Holland, who lives in the area. “Then I heard the other sirens and trucks coming in from everywhere.”

Firefighters dug in for a long fight against the raging inferno. Local, state and out-of-state firefighters are doing everything they can both from the air and the ground to slow its spread and prevent it from destroying structures in the area. A steady stream of planes and helicopters carried out an aerial assault on the fire.

“We will have firefighters and engines continuing to go around and do structure protection and putting out hot spots,” Moran said on Saturday. “We’re going to have dozers on the ground through the night.”

Crews use bulldozers and other machines to get rid of some of the vegetation.

“We use heavy equipment to to work around the fire and, basically cut off the fuel from the fire so that it doesn’t have anything else to burn,” Moran said. “On these windy days we still battle with spots over our lines and do everything we can to to keep it under control.”

Moran said the dry conditions, which have affected brush and soil, have been a jet engine for the wildfire as it continues to spread.

“We’ve got dead grasses from this winter. They’ve dried out and now we have very low humidity,” Moran said. “We’ve got this high wind, sunny days. It’s warm enough and we don’t have the green up yet to to really make these fires slow down.”

Holland has lived in her house just north of where the fire is burning since 1955. The house is more than 200 years old. 

Holland said she remembers the Big Sky Fire in the area two years ago and how terrifying that was. On Saturday, she told KVUE she was praying that the winds died down so firefighters could have a better chance of getting the fire under control.

“We hope for the best and pray that’s all we can do,” Holland said. “I don’t know if I’m going to get to stay here or not. I hope so.”

With the potential for high winds continuing over the next several days, firefighters are watching the forecast closely as they look to get this massive wildfire contained.

“Hopefully by this evening we can get get some dozer line around the head of this fire and possibly get it slowed down at least,” Moran said on Saturday.

That battle continued throughout the night and will likely continue over the next several days.

Firefighting aircraft stopped flying and dropping suppressant at dusk, but rejoined the fight on Sunday morning. Ground crews continued to fight the fire all night long.

The Fredericksburg Police Department has asked the public to refrain from calling dispatch to ask for updates about the fire.