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Hays County doing more to prepare, warn residents if wildfires approach their homes
Some residents are calling for better evacuation options in communities with one outlet.
HAYS COUNTY, Texas — The devastation left behind by the Oak Grove wildfire in Hays County is jaw-dropping. Charred vegetation now lines Fox Road.
Hays County officials say they were able to improve communication to residents during this incident, but a big concern for residents now is evacuation routes for people who live in areas with just one way out.
Jacob is still reeling from being surrounded by the 400-acre Oak Grove wildfire, but he’s happy his home is still standing.
“Everything was saved here, just a lot of property damage – at least 5 acres were either burned or bulldozed,” said Jacob.
The fire was just feet from his family home of two decades.
“Immediately went into survival mode,” said Jacob. “I call my neighbor immediately. I grabbed the water hose, watering down the house.”
This is the third wildfire Hays County has seen this summer, and during the first, officials admitted communication needed to improve.
“There were some lapses in communication with the community,” said Alexander Villalobos, Hays County chief of staff.
County leaders made some changes to how they get the word out to the community.
“I got a few texts saying there’s been evacuation,” said Jacob.
They’re using the alert text system that blasts out notifications to residents, upping the frequency of social media updates and ensuring a public information officer is on the scene at a wildfire.
“When these incidents come up, we can’t afford not to have somebody on the scene, organizing collating the data, pushing it out appropriately and making sure that the message is synced and direct for the residents,” said Villalobos.
While Jacob feels communication and response were good, he believes some parts of the community need safer evacuation routes. He said he was stuck surrounded by flames for 45 minutes because he lives on a dead-end street.
“We’re trapped,” said Jacob. “Every road out here is a one-way street from Lime Kiln … to Hilliard. Every street off of that is a one-way street and there was no other public access, and there’s thousands of people that live in this neighborhood.”
Jacob hopes the county will create a new evacuation route for not just them but others in that situation.
“I mean, a private property could build a public bridge for us,” Jacob said. “We could go out and get into Kyle. There was a pass that cuts through over to Wimberley.”
Until this fierce wildfire season is over, Jacob looks at the bright side.
“It’s nice and cleared out for us for next year,” said Jacob.
Hays County official Mike Jones said there have been many conversations around expanding infrastructure in these rural areas, but there are mixed feelings about it. He also said it comes with living in seclusion.