Residents near Rolling Pines Fire worry about shift in weather

Rolling Pines Fire displaces Bastrop County residents, who are more than familiar with wildfires

Residents in Bastrop County had to evacuate due to the wildfire, but now that they are home again and the fire is still going, concern is growing over whether or not they will need to leave again.

BASTROP COUNTY, Texas - As the fight continues with the Rolling Pines fire, many people who live nearby worry about where its destructive path heads next.

"I see smoke everywhere," said Curtis Childers, who lives near the fire.

Hot spots ignited in Bastrop County on Tuesday, and Star flight continued to dump water from helicopters. Firefighters worked around the clock to extinguish the threats.

Brush trucks could be seen filling up their vehicles with water from fire hydrants on the north side of highway 21 before rejoining the fight on the south side. Progress was made as the once closed off highway reopened Tuesday.

People like Childers who live on the north side of highway 21 could only watch as the fire burns a stone's throw from their homes.

"We were really concerned my wife and I could see it from our backyard," Childers said.

Smoke filled the area in the afternoon making it difficult to see at times.

Those sights reminded Childers of the deadly 2011 wildfire which desolated in the land. "It was terrible, and it scared us, and we thought we were going to go through the same thing again."

With warnings of a shift in the winds heading into Thursday, Childers said they are living on edge as they are unsure of what the future holds. "I am concerned because we may have to evacuate in the middle of the night if this wind changes directions and this thing backs up on us, that’s what I’m concerned about."

As firefighters from across the state arrived to help protect Childers and his neighbors, he said he couldn’t be any more grateful. "I’m very proud of what they are doing. I know that the work they do is dangerous and takes a special breed of cat to do what they do."

As the fight continues, Childers is hopeful that the scenic nature which drew him to move here will persevere.

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MORE HEADLINES:
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