Drought Plagues Central Texas Town

The driest spot in Texas, according to researchers, is just east of Austin in Bastrop County. That designation is why the fire threat is up and why fire fighters from out of state are being brought in.

As the landscape slowly dries up, the Texas forest service is quickly manning up about a mile from the La Ggrange town square. Fire fighting crews from Louisiana and Arizona have rolled in to lend a helping hand. David Perkins is on his second tour.

"Well we got out here the very first day, jumped on two fires right off the bat, I think it was 10:30, 11:00 that night before we got off them,” he said.

One spot, just east of Bastrop, is one of the latest battlegrounds. The scorched ground got a brief reprieve after a recent afternoon shower. But the storms also bring lightning strikes, and with winds starting to pick up again, the fire threat also increases.

Each morning Rob Martin gets a briefing on the weather conditions. He is usually on a wildlife refuge near Tucson. The Arizona fire fighter is now part of a team working south of La Grange in Colorado County.

"We are just patrolling the areas, where we think we'll have some lightening strikes, and where we think we'll have some fires occur,” he said.

More than 20 different states have sent about 100 fire crews to Texas providing extra fire fighting resources. More are expected as more hot days are forecasted. In between fire runs, the crews spend time doing storm supply inventory.

Researchers at Texas A&M say 9 Central Texas counties are experiencing their worst drought in history. The area around the small town of Smithville is identified as the driest. You have to crack open a history book to make any comparison.

Working with information dating back to the late 1890's, climate analysts determined Smithville is having its most severe drought on record. The weather is drier than in 1917, the mid 20's and in the 50’s.

Esther Jimenez lived through some of those days. She grew up on a farm east of town and still remembers hot afternoons picking cotton.

"And pulled corn. Riding on the bails of cotton, I loved that,” she said.

Jimenez believes it is hotter now than it was then, and researchers agree with her. Smithville has received 35% of its normal rainfall for the past 15 months.