Hays County crews battle 70-acre fire in Buda

BUDA, TEXAS - Crews battled a fire off of FM 967 near the Coves of Cimarron area of Buda Wednesday afternoon.

As of 4 p.m., the fire was about 40 percent contained. Hays County said crews will stay overnight.

Officials say the fire, the Armbruster fire, started on a tract of undeveloped land. 

They say a worker accidentally backed a trailer into a guide wire for an electric pole, causing the pole to shake. The power lines came in contact with other lines and threw sparks to the ground. 

The fire burned about 70 acres.

Crews used bulldozers and helicopters for dropping water to help fight the blaze. 

"Their hoses can only reach so far. With fuels this thick that's when they need support from aircraft and our heavy equipment like bulldozers," Walter Flocke, public information officer for the Texas A&M Forest Service said.

No one was hurt, and none of the surrounding houses were threatened.

"The road here, Dove Road on the west, has served as a fire line break between the Coves of Cimarron neighborhood and the fire itself, so it formed a good barrier for us," Chief Clay Huckaby with the Buda Fire Department said.

"I was just on my way from work today, and much to my surprise, see a lot of black smoke coming from this direction, I see helicopters and aircraft doing their patrols and such, so I was a little concerned when I got here, pretty crazy to see the fire pretty much at my doorstep," Daylon Rouen, who lives nearby, said. 

Another neighbor was waiting to get home when the road was blocked off.

"I was concerned because my wife's home by herself. I went out and did some shopping really quick and saw the fire trucks as I was coming back home, and I said, 'well there's something going on,'" Eual Horton said.

He found out what was going through neighbors. 

Earlier, Hays County had put out an evacuation notice, but that is incorrect. They say there was some miscommunication, but there is a shelter ready just in case it's needed.

Multiple agencies from the surrounding area also came to help with the fire.