Texas' Apocalyptic Wildfires, from the Ground—and from Space
It's been a horrible year for wildfires in Texas—six of the state's ten largest recorded wildfires have come in the last eight months, and nearly 3.5 million acres have burned so far. Right now, a large fire in Bastrop State Park—near Austin—rages completely out of control, and another in Montgomery County has forced 4,000 to evacuate, destroyed 80 homes, and likely caused the cancellation of a Renaissance Fair. Here are some breathtaking photos of the fires, and the damage they've caused—including a video taken from the International Space Station.
[images via AP, Getty; video via NASA]
[Fire burning in Bastrop State Park. Image by Chase A. Fountain via AP Photo/Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation]
[Bastrop State Park. Image by Chase A. Fountain via AP Photo/Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation]
[Home burned in the Colovista area of Bastrop. Image by Chase A. Fountain via AP Photo/Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation]
[One of several classic motorcycles sits charred among the remnants of a burned down home on the east side of Lake Bastrop. Photo by Erich Schlegel via Getty Images]
[ Bastrop residents line the edge of Highway 21and watch a large wildfire flare up in Bastrop State Park. Photo by Erich Schlegel via Getty Images]
[Firefighting helicopters load up with water from a pond at Lost Pines Golf Club as they fight a fire in Bastrop State Park. Photo by Erich Schlegel via Getty Images]
[Blackened forest is left behind as large wildfire burns on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011, near Magnolia. Image by Smiley N. Pool via AP Photo/Houston Chronicle]
[Smoke from a wildfire hangs in the sky, Tuesday in Bastrop. Photo by Eric Gay via AP]
[ A series of large wildfires as seen heading east approaching Bastrop on Highway 71 Monday. Image by Erich Schlegel via AP]
[ Firefighters from around the state battle a large wildfire on Highway 71 near Smithville. Image by Erich Schlegel via AP]
[There was a video here]
[video via NASA]