Texas wildfires
 

I can smell and see smoke from the fire, which is about 40 miles northeast of me. Scares me.

Fires are so scary. I hope no one got hurt with those fires. :(

Keep on a lookout and check the news every minute.

Sandy...you stay safe girl!!! I'm afraid for you and Gayle and Betsi

I'm fine, the fires are about 30 miles away from me. There are some smaller fires that are closer but far enough away to not cause me any problems. Right now there are no fires north of me so I can't even smell any smoke, I can see smoke plumes but can't actually smell it. We will be in danger until the winds die down but for now we are safe.

One of my techs called me that her kids schools are closed tomorrow. She's just a few miles from the Magnolia fire and is freaking out because her hubby is out of town.

I'm fine, too. Fires are also about 30 miles from us, but we still have smoke. The winds aren't as high today, so the fires are better contained. Gayle, Dripping Springs is having big fires. That is the closest town to our friends Ranch.

Stay safe Sandy. Everything is so crunchy dry, and pine is so easily burned.

Thank heavens the winds aren't as strong today. They can spread a fire in no time!! I hope the fire fighters stay safe and get the fires under control. I sure wish that you guys would have gotten some of the rain from the tropical depression that passed by. There's still hope for another!!!

No rain for us Diana! Just days of wind that are making the fires spread so quickly.

I have a friend who has been evacuated twice from the Magnolia fires. We have two faculty evacuated from the Bastrop fire, but as far as I know, their homes are still standing.

Betsi I was thinking about your friends ranch when I heard about the dripping springs fire. We need a good rain so badly!

Their 45 min away from me so I'm safe but I have many friends living in that area. I hope they calm down already.

Glad to hear everyone in here is safe also.

I have a brushfire going at the back of the subdivision where my apartment is in the front. I couldn't get home until almost 7, and they think it will be contained tonight. It's so scary. Is this the end?

Makes it hard to go to sleep, doesn't it Sandy? It's just awful, and so very scary. Be safe everybody!

I haven't had the news on for a day or two...are things getting any better? I worry for you all...not just the fires but breathing in that smoke everyday.

The winds have finally died down some so they are making progress on getting some of the smaller fires under control. The big one, that has burned over 30,000 acres and 800 homes, is only 30% contained and it will take a long time to get it completely stopped.

The bad news (other than the above) is that with less wind, the smoke is hovering everywhere. The air quality is now really really bad in Austin and the surrounding areas. Everything is hazy and you can smell smoke much of the time.

At least the temperatures are cooler now. We are in the low 90's with 60's-low 70's at night. It makes everything more bearable.

How is this affecting Gary?