August 12th, 2011
Brush fire threatens Driftwood area homes

STAFF REPORT

A brush fire threatened homes in Driftwood on Thursday evening and consumed between between 10 and 20 acres, officials said.

The fire was reported at about 6 p.m. in the Rim Rock Subdivision, after which Driftwood Volunteer firefighters and the North Hays County Volunteer Fire Department responded and requested mutual aid from Austin Air One and Star Flight, a Hays County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said. Authorities set up a mobile command at FM 1826 and the entrance to Rim Rock.

Rim Rock Fire Command blocked off the subdivision, though no mandatory evacuation orders were issued. The fire command asked residents to stay in their homes until cleanup crews could complete their work, which included checking for hot spots where the fire could rekindle.

At 7:06 p.m., Hays County officials reported the fire was under control.

On Friday last week, firefighters battle two fires in the Dripping Springs area, one of which destroyed a $1 million home on Meadow Ridge Drive. The cause of that blaze is under investigation, Hays County Fire Marshal Mark Chamber said.

In the second fire, a vehicle’s catalytic converter ignited dry foliage and started a grassfire that consumed about 20 acres on Mt. Gainor Road southwest of Dripping Springs, Chambers said.