Large grass fire in Bastrop County contained

Firefighters have contained a large grass fire in Bastrop County. This comes after it charred more than 20 acres and threatened some homes in the Cedar Creek neighborhood.

Within about three hours, the fire was contained with only an outbuilding lost. That's thanks to efforts from agencies in three counties.

It's a race against the clock, trying to control a large grass fire before it gets out of hand.

On Monday afternoon authorities got a report of a fire in the 600 block of Mt. Pleasant in Cedar Creek.
It spanned more than 20 acres.

"It's hot and dry, very condusive to a fire situation," says Sgt. James Davenport, Bastrop County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities say there was one home in danger but they were able to keep the blaze from reaching it. Residents in the Cedar Creek neighborhood were asked to avoid the area. Putting out the fire was a wide-spread effort, involving around seven area fire stations, the Texas Forest Service and Austin-Travis County STAR Flight. 

"The important thing, when you get a fire like that, it's to get on it fast. Get as many people as you can and everybody I think understands that and tries to get to it before it gets out of hand," says Davenport.

Now authorities are in the mop-up stage. They are ensuring nothing is left smoldering and preventing a fire from sparking again. They have learned from situations like the devastating Bastrop wildfires in 2011.

"When we had the big fire, we've learned a lot since then. We've utilized all those resources. Everybody coming together has really been a great asset when dealing with situations like this," says Davenport.

Officials are still trying to figure out what started the fire. A company did come out to that area to make sure no electrical lines were affected.