Travis County previews emergency response efforts pre-wildfire season
TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Travis County leaders along with emergency services district personnel discussed Tuesday some of the risks and preventative measures underway ahead of the 2024 wildfire season.
Blake Clampffer, chief deputy emergency management coordinator with Travis County’s Office of Emergency Management, said Tuesday the state of Texas has seen an increased loss of homes, businesses and property in recent years due to wildfires. None, however, have compared to the volume of loss seen in 2011, which included fires in Austin’s Oak Hill neighborhood, Pedernales Bend, Steiner Ranch, Bastrop and Pflugerville.
For emergency personnel in Travis County, it’s not a matter of an eastern county versus western county issue, but a threat based on occurrence, probability, intensity and impact. Chief Ken Bailey with the Travis County Fire Rescue ESD No. 11 said threats are often seen as a combination of fuel, weather conditions, topography and loss potential.
When it comes to the possibility of massive, larger-scale home loss, Bailey said those often happen less frequently but still pose substantial threats.
“These are not common events, but when the weather aligns with the fuel and the ignition, we can certainly have those risks,” he said.
Instead, there’s been a larger presence statewide of small fires being very destructive in flat, grassier lands. Bailey also noted a higher volume of fires related to area homeless populations, which can increase major wildfire risks as well as cause significant loss of life and property if not well managed.
The City of Austin, Travis County and surrounding counties each saw a substantial uptick in brush fire events in 2022 before a slight decline in 2023. However, Austin and Travis County haven’t seen as high a volume of incidents as in 2011; neighboring counties, however, have experienced an increase.
To mitigate risk levels, emergency response crews have leaned into fuel mitigation work since 2011, investing millions of dollars into education and outreach efforts. Those center on teaching homeowners how to build “defensible spaces” and customizing those approaches to those living in flatter land as well as those in hillier areas, said Robert Abbott, chief of the Lake Travis Fire Rescue.
Departments are also tapping into artificial intelligence as a resource to help detect early fire starts, especially those emerging in more remote areas.
More details on burn ban statuses, how to get emergency alert updates and ways to stay weather-prepared are available online.
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