robbinswrites: Rebuilding After the Destruction

This is a story about resilience after tragedy. A story that began with perfect conditions for such a tragedy. High temperatures, high winds and a drought. No one knew it at the time, but it would be the driest, hottest summer on record in Central Texas. The wind blew, trees fell on power lines, sparks were generated and a flame began. Then it took off. One acre, then two. Before it could be contained, thousands of acres, thousands of houses, numerous animals, one State Park and two lives would be lost.

It began on September 4, 2011. There is even a Wikipedia entry for this infamous blaze under Bastrop County Complex Fire. According to Wikipedia, “on September 6, the Texas Forest Service released a statement describing the fires behavior as ‘unprecedented’ and stating that ‘no one on the face of this earth has ever fought fires in these extreme conditions.’”

It was not completely extinguished until October 10, 2011.

A tropical storm had landed on the Texas coast and moved northeast. We didn’t get the rain from it, but we did get the wind, which propelled the flames.

I remember telling a friend that I had never lived in close proximity to fires before; I had lived where we had hurricanes come in South Alabama, but never fires. She had lived in this area all of her life and she said, “Uh, this is new for all of us too. We have never had anything this bad before here either.”

Of course, I don’t live in the affected area. I live in Hays County, about thirty miles away. But close enough, that I could look to the southeast sky and see the smoke from the unprecedented blaze.

One of the most severely affected areas was the Bastrop State Park. All but 95 acres of the 5,926 acre park were affected. I visited the park to take photos of the progress four months after the tragedy.It reminded me of the woods in Alabama after they had been logged. Many of the trees were cut down; that is, the ones that had not already fallen after being burned. Much of the park was closed for repairs. The attendant at the park told me that they had crews cutting down trees, electrical crews, and bulldozers moving the logs and debris. I saw some of this in progress. Many of the park roads are still closed for safety concerns. The attendant told me that they would not allow entry into any road that was not cleared for at least 100 feet on each side of the road. Sawdust now covers the ground where trees,leaves and pine needles once stood. Trees that were fully adorned with leaves and pine needles now stand bare. They look naked without the greenery. Trees that are still standing are now black from being burned and from soot from the smoke. The park has been transformed from the pristine beautiful area that it once was.

But a lot of work has already been done, and continues to occur. I am convinced that this park will be restored to its beautiful setting.

What follows are the pictures that I took from the devastation and rebuilding.