400-acre wildfire causes mandatory evacuations in Bastrop County

BASTROP COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — An "extremely active" wildfire in Bastrop County is causing mandatory evacuations Sunday, according to county officials.

The Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management said the Hudston Fire is south of Park Road 1C. This is between Bastrop State Park and Buescher State Park.

The Texas A&M Forest Service estimated the fire at 400 acres with 15% containment as of 9:55 p.m. Officials said the Hudson Fire is moving north because of strong south winds.

"We've had a fairly fast wind-driven fire today," said Kari Hines, a spokesperson for the Texas A&M Forrest Service. "We'll be rotating people and making sure people are getting the rest they need. We do expect to be continuing operations throughout the evening and into the night."

Hines said that while dry and windy conditions exacerbated flames Sunday afternoon and evening, the weather is expected to improve overnight and into Monday.

"The forecasts show that our wind gusts are going to be decreasing and our humidities are coming up overnight. We also expect humidities to be higher in general tomorrow," Hines said.

"We're looking forward to being able to do some really good work around containment this evening," she continued.

Evacuation information

About 60 homes near the fire were evacuated, according to Texas A&M Forest Service. Of those, about 20 to 30 were directly threatened.

"Thankfully, this fire is not burning in an area that is very highly populated," Hines told KXAN.

As of 3 p.m., evacuations are in place for residents on Highway 71 between Alum Creek to Goiter Trace and residents on Park Road 1C between Alum Creek Road and Cottletown Road.

Evacuees can shelter at the Smithville Recreation Center starting Sunday at 6:30 p.m. This is located at 106 Royston Street.

A temporary animal shelter for dogs, cats and small animals is set up at Mayfest Park. Bastrop County Agrilife Extension is also setting up livestock assistance at Mayfest Park.

Park Road 1C and Goetier Trace are closed as of 4 p.m., according to Bastrop County.

Wildfire battle

Forward progression of the fire has slowed but not stopped, according to the Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management in an 8:50 p.m. update.

Local emergency responders are expected to be on scene overnight, according to Bastrop County officials. Fire crews used heavy equipment to create containment lines on the southern border of the fire. Aviation crews also helped, and fire trucks protected threatened structures.

"October is supposed to be one of our wettest months, and of course, it was not," Hines said. "We have what we would consider a high-risk fuel type when it's dry."

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas A&M Forest Service are also responding with heavy equipment and a helicopter.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said over 90 personnel and 60 assets, including air tankers and fire engines, were deployed to the Hudson Fire.

This is a developing story and will be updated.