Texas Fire Videos Show Smoke Billowing Into Sky As People Urged To Evacuate

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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Texas residents have been urged to evacuate after a large fire broke out in Walker County.

The fire started at 1 p.m. local time on Friday and was only 10 percent contained as of Saturday morning, according to the latest update on Texas A&M Forest Incident Viewer. The blaze has burned over 1,200 acres, according to officials, and is still considered active.

The fire was named by authorities as the Game Preserve Fire, writes FOX 26, and was burning on Lost Indian Camp Road off FM 247. The road was partially closed by officials.

In a notice shared on social media, the Walker County Office of Emergency Management recommended that everyone within three miles of Lost Indian Camp Road should evacuate.

Fire Texas
File image of members of the Hays County Emergency Service Districts and the Kyle and Buda Fire Departments looking on as a helicopter prepares to drop water on a wildfire during an excessive heat warning... Brandon Bell/Getty Images

A Facebook update shared by Crabb's Prairie Volunteer Fire Department, whose crews were on the side of the fire, said that the wildfire was "approaching the feeder road on IH 45 between The Huntsville Livestock Auction Barn and Cedar Ridge Rd," adding that residents were urged to evacuate.

"We have measures to close the freeway if needed in place," the department wrote late on Friday. "We urge all to stay away from the feeder road from FM 1696 E. to FM 2989 along IH 45."

ROAD CLOSURE: The Game Reserve Fire has forced the closure of Interstate 45 in the North & Southbound lanes at Spur 67 to Mile Marker 118 in...

According to the department, numerous federal, state, county, and out-of-county agencies and departments were working "in a unified command" to ensure that this fire was stopped.

A video shared by the television channel shows a huge cloud of thick dark smoke billowing in the sky, while clips shared on social media show fire burning through a forest.

Firefighters are trying to contain the raging fire, building containment lines and patrolling the area into Saturday morning when additional crews from all across the state arrived on the scene.

Texas has been bracing for an explosion of wildfires this summer as the state has been engulfed in an ongoing heatwave that has turned its land into a tinderbox. This year, Austin experienced its hottest July ever, with the thermometer reaching the triple digits.

The increased heat in Texas has been linked by experts to climate change, which is considered to increase the frequency and severity of wildfires. Little relief is in sight as the state is experiencing severe drought conditions.

The risk of fires across the entire U.S. has surged this year due to extremely high temperatures and bizarre weather events, with the most severe fire burning down the town of Lahaina in Maui, Hawaii, last month. This year, a total of 1.5 million acres has burned across the country, according to data from the National Interagency Fire Center, destroying homes, businesses and land while injuring and killing many.

Last month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a wildfire disaster for 75 percent of the state's counties, an emergency measure that allowed fire services and officials to use all resources available to stop the flames from expanding.

Update, 9/2/23 4:50 a.m. ET: This article was updated to provide more background information on the developing news story.

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About the writer

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

Writers Page

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property ... Read more