A wildfire burning east of Austin, Texas was likely the resulted of a planned burn, officials said.
The Rolling Pines Fire in Bastrop County had burned through more than 780 acres and was 30% contained as of the morning of Jan. 19, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
The newspaper reported that Carter Smith, the executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said the agency “absolutely believe” the fire was sparked from lingering embers of a controlled burn Jan. 18.
“I am unequivocally convinced that our burn boss thought it was safe to carry out the fire,” Smith said, according to local TV station KXAN. “We don’t know what happened. We absolutely believe that embers from the prescribed fire that undoubtedly caused the fire off the park. We’ve tried to acknowledged that. What we don’t know is how that happened, but we’ll get to the bottom of that.”
The fire destroyed no primary homes, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. The department warned on Jan. 17 that warm, dry and windy conditions could increase wildfire danger.
“The fire environment will include elevated to critical fire weather, with above normal temperatures and wind speeds near 20 mph, aligned with freeze-cured grasses across the landscape,” the department said. “This combination will support increased wildfire activity.”
As of late morning Jan. 19, hundreds of firefighters from around the state were working to put the blaze out.
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