Wildfires Return to Bastrop

BASTROP, Texas (AP) _ Officials say more than 40 homes have been evacuated in Central Texas as firefighters battle a wildfire in the same county where a destructive blaze last month destroyed more than 1,500 homes.

The Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office said the blaze Tuesday in the county has burned about 900 acres. Sheriff’s office dispatcher Cheryl Castro said the fire was 10 percent contained.

The fire is in a heavily forested area east of Austin.

Castro says there have been no reports of any structures being damaged.

Texas Forest Service spokesman John Nichols says a DC-10 jet and two C-130 aircraft are on the scene dropping fire retardant.

Historic drought conditions in Texas have led to a rash of wildfires that have burned hundreds of thousands of acres over the last several months.

    
     (Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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