Published October 2011
The eyes of the nation turned to the Lone Star State over Labor Day as a catastrophic wildfire raged through Bastrop County east of Austin, setting a sober state record with the highest number of homes lost in a single fire in Texas history.
Likened to an inferno, the flames were fanned into a firestorm by the winds of Tropical Storm Lee and scorched approximately 34,000 acres, forcing some 5,000 to evacuate and leaving at least 1,380 homes in ruin as of press time (Sept. 10, at which time the fire was still burning).
Denis McGinness, assistant editor of The Smithville Times, spoke to several of the firefighters and victims of the blaze and has shared his account with County Progress.
Heroism, Volunteerism and Survival…
The hundreds of tales of tragedy and loss from the epic Labor Day weekend fires are being balanced by stories of heroism, volunteerism, and giving that are slowly coming to light as people get a chance to take a breath and talk about their experiences.
On the morning of Sept. 5, as bedraggled volunteer firefighters returned to the Smithville station covered in ash and grime and badly in need of rest, a few reluctantly told about what their fellow firefighters had done.
During the height of the blaze along Cottletown Road, two volunteers heard of an elderly woman who neighbors said was not responding to knocks on her door. While the rest of the neighborhood was being evacuated, the volunteers got into the house and found the woman asleep. They gathered her oxygen, medications, and a few personal items, placed the woman in their supply truck, and made a dash for safety, dodging falling trees, thick smoke, and bursts of fire that covered the road. The woman was later united with her frantic daughter who had come from Austin to get her when she heard about the fire.
Several Smithville firefighters told about seeing beautiful homes go up in flames along the cliffs in the ColoVista and Tahitian Village subdivisions, watching helplessly from the opposite side of the Colorado River. The blaze easily jumped the river as the ferocious winds tossed burning embers off the cliffs and high into the sky, letting them drop haphazardly on pastures that quickly caught on fire and went on to destroy several more homes.
Wondering What’s Left
Shawn White and his mother, Sherrell Myers, live at 291 Crafts Prairie Rd. As the smoke and debris from the fire got closer and they saw their neighbors leave, they thought about what to take with them.
“There were cars flying around everywhere as folks headed away from the fire,” White said. “Then Smithville volunteer John Hoffman drove by and said we better get out, so we took off with what we could grab.”
White and Myers saw the wall of flames coming toward their neighborhood and they realized there probably wouldn’t be much left when they returned. They headed to the Smithville rec center along with dozens of others, thankful to be safe and unharmed.
Atlanta Burning
Gary Baltis stood out in the crowd as he checked in at the rec center. With a bandaged hand and a bit of a nervous and harried look, he looked like he’d survived a fire, which in his case, is exactly what happened.
Baltis lives at Alum Creek and Gotier Trace roads. His two-story brick home was still standing on Labor Day, but Baltis himself was a bit worse for wear. On Sunday, Sept. 4, he had been warned to evacuate but decided to stay. He was keeping his eye on the fire until he dozed off. At about 2 a.m. he woke up after the electricity went off. As he looked through the many windows in his house, he said everything was covered in an orange glow.
“It looked like Atlanta was burning,” Baltis said. “The meadow by the house was burning, and there were walls of flames headed toward the house. I grabbed my medicine and a few things and ran to the car. It’s like I jumped right into Hades.”
As Baltis drove down the road he dodged falling trees that were still burning. Flames were cutting across the road and in front of his car. He’s still not sure how he got out. Baltis said he was able to sneak back in to see his house the next day.
“My house was okay, but it’s surrounded by a wasteland. I’m used to seeing a forest with a meadow and that’s all gone now. I am grateful that I have a house,” Baltis said.
Tough ol’ Bird
Melissa Bishop, who calls herself “the bird lady,” attracted the attention of several folks at a donation center on Main Street in Smithville when she came in. She was a bit banged up with a few bandages and lots of soot smudged on her legs, arms and face.
When asked about her story she called on her friend Jared Milton. The couple was gratefully picking up a few necessities at the center since they didn’t have much left.
Bishop lived at 715 Park Road 1C with 22 animals. When the fire threatened her area, she planned ahead and took her two stallions (leading them through the truck window), three milk goats, 10 chickens, a giant carnivorous lizard, a songbird and whippet and headed for Milton’s ranch on Gotier Trace Road, which was considered generally safe at the time.
Bishop then made another run to her house to get the rest of her birds. That’s when she had her first encounter with state troopers, who told her to leave. On the return trip to Milton’s house, she discovered that the fire had crossed the road and was jumping from treetop to treetop. She began dodging falling trees, and when they crossed her path she used a chain attached to the truck to drag them out of the way. When she made it back to Milton’s house, she found that the fire was a real threat there.
The couple started using buckets of water from the horse troughs to keep the fire at bay. The forest behind the house was engulfed in flames, and a wall of fire was moving toward the house. Milton thinks an ember lodged in his rain gutter and started the fire that consumed his stucco house. While “tornados of fire” burned around them, the couple took refuge in his truck. About then, they had another visit from the Department of Public Safety. This time they took Bishop, with Milton in tow, to the rec center in Smithville, where she then got a ride with EMS personnel to Seton Smithville Regional Hospital for treatment for suspected smoke inhalation. She’s still annoyed about that, because she’s “just fine thank you very much.”
Milton, though, is very concerned about his ranch.
“The fences are burned down and I’m worried about getting the cattle fed and watered,” Milton said. “The barn burned, and that’s where Bishop’s goats were, so we lost her milking goats.”
Bishop said her horses are fine but their tails were singed a bit. She lost much of her animal menagerie though, along with her home.
The couple stocked up on a few personal items before trying to get back to see about the cattle and horses – even though they knew the area was still off limits. Wesley the whippet was waiting for them in the truck.
Can’t Save Yourself
A tragic consequence of the epic Labor Day weekend fires is found in the number of firefighters who lost their homes. For members of the Heart of the Pines Volunteer Fire Department, the stark reality is that the majority of the volunteers had their homes destroyed while they were on assignment saving their neighbors’ property.
For volunteer Mizzy Zdroj and her husband Chris, there is some kind of irony in that.
“It’s just hard to figure out right now – I’m out fighting fires and saving homes while mine burns down,” Mizzy said while looking at what was left of their former abode. “We started out six years ago living in a tent while we built the house – looks like we’ll be doing it again.”
Mizzy does not look like your typical firefighter. She has red streaked hair, and her smallish frame looks almost out of place in the bunker gear and boots. There’s no denying she’s a veteran though, as she talked about working the fire while shedding a few tears as she described her loss.
The Zdroj’s do not have insurance. Adding to that grief is the fact that her grown daughter had just moved her possessions to the house. They lost several chickens, their pet rabbits and beloved cats. A Nissan Pathfinder had been “chopped and lowered” according to Chris; it now sits on its metal rims as a burned-out hulk. Next to the vehicle is a bike that belonged to one of the couple’s twin sons.
“I was really ready to just get out of here,” Mizzy said. “I talked to Mark (Gwin, a fellow Heart of the Pines firefighter who also lost his home), and he told me that my kids needed me and the friends I made here need me.”
Mizzy, an artist, picked up a shiny piece of molten aluminum and guessed that it was part of the melted block of the Nissan.
“I’m going to make something out of this,” Mizzy said, getting a bit of encouragement from the wreckage to continue her artistic passions and start over again.
Husband Hero
Debbie and Rodney Davis live right in the zone where it all began – in Circle D Estates on Santa Gertrudis Road. Debbie says her husband, Rodney, is a hero.
“My husband single-handedly saved our home by fighting the fire with a single garden hose for over four hours,” Debbie said. “I had not made it home from church on Sunday until 2 p.m. and there was fire all up and down Charolais Road. I called Rodney to check on him, and he said if he could not fight the fire he would come out the back way on FM 1441.”
When Rodney did not come out, Debbie began to worry.
“He never came out, and I was afraid something happened. Several hours later I was able to reach him by cell phone, and by now the officers had pushed me back to waiting several blocks away on 1441,” she said. “He continued with one garden hose to fight off the fire totally encircling our entire home on over three acres.”
Debbie and Rodney have spent the last seven years building the home they love.
“My husband is a hero for protecting the home he has spent over seven years building by himself. It may not have been the safest thing to do, but he is safe and secure in our home that is still standing amongst many, many homes around him that are gone,” Debbie said. “I just can’t believe the tragedy my neighbors have suffered. But in light of all of this, my husband is truly a hero to me.”
Donations
The success of the donation center on Smithville’s Main Street has been phenomenal. Volunteers, including dozens of students who had the day off from school, helped carry in boxes and bags of donations, sorting, folding, and separating goods before placing them on tables.
As of press time the center was full, and another location was being established.
Those interested in giving may send a check payable to the Smithville Ministerial Alliance, P.O. Box 743, Smithville, TX, 78957.
Donations are also being accepted via PayPal on the Smithville Area Chamber of Commerce’s website for victims of the fire. Go to www.smithvilletx.org for a link and details on where families may get help.
For more information, call the donation center at 979-968-1632. H – By Denis McGinness, assistant editor, The Smithville Times. Reprinted with permission.