September 5th, 2011
Updated: Evacuated residents return home

UPDATED 9:43 p.m. SEPT 5:

Hays County Emergency Management officials have ended the mandatory evacuation of residences in northwestern Hays County and are allowing residents to return to their homes.

About 210 residences were contacted to be evacuated, Hays County spokesperson Laureen Chernow said. The area evacuated included the Stagecoach Ranches subdivision and the Bell Springs Road-Lost Creek Road-Grand Summit Road area in Hays County as well as Cedar Springs Ranch, River Oaks Ranch and Ranches at Hamilton Pool.

The fire is currently contained on the north side of Hamilton Pool Road, officials said. Fire personnel in Hays County will watch the area for hotspots over night and will continue their work Tuesday as necessary.

Hamilton Pool Road has reopened to traffic. The shelter at Dripping Springs Middle School on Tiger Lane in Dripping Springs is closed.

UPDATED 5:48 p.m. SEPT. 5

Hays County has issued a mandatory evacuation order to residents in the area of northern Hays County where a voluntary evacuation order was in effect yesterday, due to the fire known as Pedernales One (also as the Spicewood Fire).

The evacuated area includes the Stagecoach Ranches subdivision and the Bell Springs Road-Lost Creek Road-Grand Summit Boulevard area in Hays County. The fire is about one mile from there and moving fast, according to officials on-scene.

Officials have issued a mandatory evacuation order to subdivisions including Cedar Springs Ranch, River Oaks Ranch and Ranches at Hamilton Pool. Residents can go to an evacuation shelter at Dripping Springs Middle School on Tiger Lane in Dripping Springs.

Officials say they are concerned the fast-moving fire and strong, changeable winds could endanger residences.

Residents will be allowed to leave the area via Hamilton Pool Road, though vehicles will not be allowed to enter Hamilton Pool Road at either end, or Stagecoach Ranch Road on the west, or Highland Plains Drive on the east, until further notice.

Hays County residents who have questions can call the county’s information line at (512) 753-2180. Information is posted to the Hays County website at www.co.hays.tx.us and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/hayscounty.

UPDATED 4:15 p.m. SEPT. 5

Hays County emergency management officials say they will confront the Pedernales One fire at Hamilton Pool Road across the county line, rather than let it get into rough, hilly terrain around the Pedernales River.

The fire remains about 2.75 miles north of Hamilton Pool Road but county officials said again this afternoon that residents of evacuated areas should stay away from their homes. Evacuated areas include the Stagecoach Ranches, Ranches at Hamilton Pool, Cedar Spring Ranch and River Oaks Ranches subdivision and areas along Bell Springs Road and Lost Creek Road.

An evacuation shelter will remain open at Dripping Springs Middle School, 111 Tiger Lane. Four people stayed in the shelter last night and about 8 families — an estimated 20 people — stayed on school grounds but slept in their cars because they had pets with them, a shelter officials said.

A Hays County Sheriff’s Office sergeant speaks to spectators at on a hilltop along Stagecoach Ranch Road as they carefully watch a fire that continues to head southward. PHOTO by SEAN KIMMONS

UPDATED 2:57 p.m. SEPT. 5:

People wanting to donate water/food for firefighters or evacuees or to volunteer to help, such as working a shelter, in Hays County should call the Volunteer Coordinator Lidia Contreras at 512-393-7302.

STAFF REPORT

A brush fire near the Hays-Travis county line north of Dripping Springs has consumed about 500 acres, at last official report, and is still burning.

Residents within a three-mile radius of the Stagecoach Ranch Subdivision were evacuated beginning at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday. By 10 p.m., authorities had announced an evacuation of the area including Bell Springs Road to Lost Creek Road and Grand Summit Boulevard.

The sheriff’s office estimates the evacuation area included about 500 people. Officials set up an evacuation shelter at the Dripping Springs Middle School, 111 Tiger Lane.

As of 8:30 a.m. Monday, Hays County spokesperson Laureen Chernow said the fire encompassed an area near Stagecoach Ranch Road and Hamilton Pool Road, near Hays County but not in it. Evacuees were still being urged to stay away from what Chernow this morning described as “a dangerous situation with high winds and low humidity.”

There have been no reports of injuries or residences burned in Hays County, according to the Hays County Sheriff’s Office. Travis County officials say about 20 homes were destroyed there by what first responders have dubbed the Pedernales One fire.

Residents seeking more information about the Pedernales One Fire may call a Sheriff’s Office representative at (512) 753-2180 or visit the Hays County website at www.co.hays.tx.us.