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Travis, Williamson among five counties added to federal disaster declaration
UPDATE, 5:20 p.m.: Five counties have been added to the federal disaster declaration, making more Texans eligible for assistance.
As of today, residents and others affected by wildfires that started after Aug. 30 in Williamson, Travis, Colorado, Houston and Leon counties can apply for individual assistance, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said.
There are three ways to register:
online at www.disasterassistance.gov
via web-enabled phone at m.fema.gov
by calling FEMA toll-free at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 1-800-462-7585. If you use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services (VRS), call 1-800-621-3362. Specialists are available by phone from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time seven days a week.
So far, state and federal officials have approved more than $967,000 in housing assistance and more than $88,000 in “other needs assistance” for eligible residents in Bastrop County, which received the disaster declaration late Friday. The other needs assistance includes help paying for the repair or replacement of personal property damaged or destroyed during the wildfires, transportation costs and medical and dental expenses.
Meanwhile, law enforcement authorities in Bastrop County are looking for a “suspicious vehicle” that was seen in the area where a small fire was started recently, said Robert Thorp, an officer with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
An older, white, flat-bed pickup truck with — license plate number BLK-155 — was seen near a fire that sparked near Red Rock in the past couple of days, Thorp said. Exactly when the fire started is unclear, but it wasn’t today, he said.
Officials haven’t been able to verify any information on the vehicle, Thorp said. He couldn’t immediately say whether it was registered or not.
“We just need to contact the person that was driving the vehicle and talk to them,” Thorp said.
Thorp has been posted in Red Rock looking for the vehicle and any other suspicious activity, he said. Anyone with information should call the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office, 512-549-5100, he said.
EARLIER: BASTROP — Bastrop County officials said they’ve received word today that the final person on a list of people missing in a large fire that’s been burning for more than a week is visiting relatives in Arizona.
Steve Ingram was one of 22 people on a list released Sunday who were missing in the fires. All others have checked in with authorities, Sheriff Terry Pickering said at a press conference with other officials this morning.
The fire that has been burning since Sept. 3 is about 70 percent contained, County Judge Ronnie McDonald said. About 600 firefighters are working the fire, and 174 law-enforcement officers are patrolling affected areas, said Mike Fisher, the county’s emergency management coordinator.
High winds and heat yesterday kept residents of the Eastern Tahitian Village, Pine Forest and McAllister Road neighborhoods as well as parts of Colovista out of those neighborhoods.
Fisher was hopeful that those residents will be allowed back to their homes tomorrow.
Winds of 20 to 25 mph and triple-digit heat are again in today’s forecast.
“It’s going to be an active day for the firefighters that are out there on the line today,” Fisher said, adding that there were 18 flare-ups yesterday.
There are still 2,078 Bluebonnet Electric Coop meters without power, CEO Mark Rose said. The coop has released a map showing when power will be restored to all areas, but Rose said today that the time scheduled to fully restore power will not be met.
“We are in the slow part of this work,” Rose said. “We’re talking about several weeks not several days.”
More than 1,800 people have registered for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1,220 of which are eligible, spokeswoman Ericka Lopez said.
People can register for federal assistance online at www.disasterassistance.gov. Applicants may also call 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m seven days a week, officials said.
An additional 181 addresses were confirmed destroyed on a list posted at the Bastrop Convention and Exhibit Center today.
Officials have been investigating the cause of the fire, including reviewing 911 tapes, but a cause has not been determined, Fisher said.
The blaze, which has burned about 34,000 acres, started as two separate fires Sept. 3, Fisher said today. Two points of origin have been identified, on Charolais Drive and in the Scenic Farms area near U.S. 290, he said.
“It’s a tedious and difficult process given the destruction,” Fisher said of the investigation.
Photos: Wildfires burn across Central Texas
