Another fire yesterday at an apartment complex in the center of north Austin, on the highway between our house and Mr. Clod's work. It got put out quickly, but Mr. Clod had to take a different route home due to onlooker traffic, plus it knocked out power to the therapy clinic so I had to come pick up Minifobette and the other carpool kids early. This time they said they were investigating a "person of interest," not sure whether that means this one was deliberate, or just that somebody saw the smoker who doesn't understand what "outdoor burn ban" means.
When I was driving out to get the kids, there was a big blackened patch on the grass about 1/2 mile from my house. Only about 20 feet in diameter, and obviously put out fast enough that the local news wasn't even alerted, but still, it wasn't a comforting sight. My friend told me that the Leander fire came within 4 houses of theirs.
Sorry to hear about your friends, Nirvana.
A big animal shelter in Bastrop was evacuated, and there's not enough room for them so local radios have been pushing to get them adopted right away, no fees or anything, just come and pick up any animal you want...