BASTROP, Texas — Scorching temperatures, strong winds and dry vegetation are turning Texas wildfires into dangers that hop from place to place within hours, even minutes, and give residents little time to flee. Now it’s likely to get worse.
Another La Niña weather pattern promises to bring drier, windier cold fronts in the months ahead, setting the stage for even more destructive blazes as the state prepares for autumn — traditionally its busiest wildfire season.
“It’s the perfect conditions for a fire storm that just becomes very catastrophic,” said Doug Piirto of the natural resources management and environmental sciences department at California Polytechnic State University.
The perilous mix has spawned a massive blaze that has destroyed nearly 1,400 homes in the Bastrop area, southeast of Austin, and nearly 300 others that firefighters have battled since February. The Associated Press
