Fire Damage at Bastrop State Park, Sept 28, 2011

Fire Damage at Bastrop State Park, Sept 28, 2011

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Thanks to Todd and Roger, we have our first photos of the damage at Bastrop State Park. As you can see from these photos taken on 9/28/2011, there is still smoke in the area from fires, trees down, roads blocked and a high danger of these things everywhere. This is why nobody is allowed in the Park and it will be quite a while before it's safe to let people in.

Rebuilding and Restoration work will take a long, long time to bring the Park back up to Standards again. We need to keep in mind, we cannot get in a hurry. Safety comes first, then erosion control, we need a rain or two to see what survives, then careful planning on how to restore what we lost with the proper trees, grasses, etc. that made this Park so unique!

Be Patient!

Note: Hi-Def Photos, might take a bit to load!

The Playground at Bastrop was saved!

Life begins anew in the ashes of the fire...there is hope!

Trees are still falling and will for quite a while...making it a dangerous place to be!

Houston Toad Territory

The fire went up the canyons most visitors didn't know were there

The fire got real close to the CCC cabins, but TPWD made a stand and saved them

The fire reached the Lake...Copters used the water to drop on the fire

One of the few remaining trail markers

Even the rocks didn't escape the damage

Thick ash on the ground and trees killed in the blaze

Tree trunks are weaked by burning and limbs split and fall every day

Thick ash show the burn lines where tree limbs and trees fell

Hill sides and hill tops tend to burn hotter and faster, causing large ash drifts

Park Road 1C to Buescher SP, note the heat damage to the sign

Note the smoke and the damage to the trees, we most likely have lost these

Even if it didn't burn, the heat damage is terrific

Life tries to hang on in spots all over the Park. Hopefully, this tree will come back!

One of the few CCC buildings that was burned, the overlook

What view there is from the overlook now

The Parking area at the overlook took a lot of damage

You can see the damage to tree in the photo and why they are still falling

The big rock and a melted Houston Toad sign

One of the camping sites

Small pockets of green can still be found

Hollowed out trees and roots will burn for months

These Pine needles are from dying trees. They fell on the ash after the fire passed

Some of the trees that are still falling on and near the road

There is no ground cover but ash if there is a big rain, erosion will occur

More possible erosion problems on the hill sides

Smoke and falling trees covering the roads, very dangerous

This is how close it got to the Refectory. TPWD deserves a big thank you for saving these buildings