More Than 16,000 Acres Burned and Fire Still Blazing in Edwards County

A fire that started Monday afternoon continues to blaze through Texas Hill Country and has destroyed 16,521 acres so far and counting, said the Edwards County Emergency Manager Coordinator Jon Elliot.

“At this time, we’re about 50 percent contained,” he said.

Dustin Olson, a firefighter with the Edwards County Volunteer Fire Department who was helping answer phone calls on behalf of the Sheriff’s Department Thursday morning, said the blaze started with a tipped over barbecue pit at the Brown Ranch about 15 miles southwest of Rock Springs near Highway 674 in a hunting area.

The ranch owner was preparing for hunting season, and three people in the area were barbecuing when the pit turned over and started the fire. A combination of high winds and tall grass caused the blaze to spread rapidly.

Thus far, some structures have burned and people have been evacuated from their homes, but Elliot said he doesn’t have the estimates at this time. He also didn’t know how many of those structures were homes.

“I should know more today; things have been so hectic,” Elliott added.

Elliot also said with all the agencies helping fight the fire, he hopes containment will happen soon. Firefighters from the San Antonio Fire Department, Travis County Fire Rescue, Bexar-Bulverde VFD, New Braunfels FD, Sutton County FD, Uvalde FD, Kinney VFD, and more have come out to help the Rocksprings VFD and Edwards County VFD stop the fire.

Update at 2:28 p.m.

As of Thursday afternoon, Edwards County EMC Jon Elliot said there have been 21 evacuations, one family displaced, one cabin burned and one house with smoke damage since the fire started.