Multiple agencies battle 700+ acre grass fire in Blanco County

Multiple firefighters from several agencies continued battle a blaze off Highway 71 West on the Blanco/Llano County line Wednesday.

"The fire behavior is increasing this afternoon as temperatures increase and humidity decreases," said Kari Hines, spokesperson for Texas A&M Forest Service.

Authorities say the fire started shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday and is now 50 percent contained.

"We can't just spray water on it there's way too much area to do that. What we do is remove the path of the fire," said Hines.

The Texas A&M Forest Service has two helicopters dropping buckets of water on the area and an airplane keeping an eye on things. So far the Smith West fire has burned an estimated 775 acres.

"We could see the flames coming from Deerhaven, the neighborhood where my parents live," said Matt Duffin, who was in town visiting parents in the area near the fire.

As of Wednesday afternoon, no evacuations were ordered, but Duffin is keeping an eye on unfolding events.

"My parents are in their mid 80's and have some mobility issues, I was a little concerned about that. Fires, from my experience, they spread so fast there's not a lot of time sometimes to get out of an area," said Duffin.

Several volunteer fire departments continued to fight the flames, on top of dealing with the typical Texas sun. 

"Local fire departments who are on scene have been here since last night. Fatigue is setting in of course," said Hines.

According to the Blanco Volunteer Fire Department website, Blanco County remains under a burn ban. So authorities are reminding everyone to be cautious. 

"Anything that can produce a spark, machinery, welding, we're talking barbecue grills, shredding, anything can produce a spark: when we have a hot dry day and it's windy that can turn into a wildfire,” said Hines.

On Wednesday afternoon, firefighters began fighting another blaze about 10 miles away from the Smith West fire. They are calling it the CR 308 fire and it has already burned 1,500 acres, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.