I don't know what I expected to see, but this wasn't it. Driving past the gates of Bastrop State Park about 25 miles east of Austin, you would scarcely notice that a devastating fire had incinerated 96 percent of the park. At least not at first.
According to data released by the Texas Forest Service in December, Texas lost roughly 500 million trees this past year due to the drought. A huge number of those as a result of the fire that ignited in Bastrop over the Labor Day Weekend.
The official word, according to Site Manager Roger Dolle, is that a dead tree fell on power lines causing the sparks and, well, the rest is evident as you drive deeper into the parkland. It happened at two points at the same time.
"Conditions were prime for a devastating wildfire," says Dolle.
As you enter the park, you pass through the Bastrop SP 18-hold golf course. The golf course is managed by a concessionaire, and the state only gets a fraction of the take. There is green here, and tall Loblolly Pines. It is the Loblolly Pine that is a major concern to the Texas Forest Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Working ahead of the flames, the 100-plus Parks and Wildlife firefighters and volunteers saved all the park's historic Civilian conservation Corp. cabins, Refectory and bathhouse. The initial attack on the fire lasted from 4 to 6 days. During that time firefighters toiled on just a couple of hours of sleep each day.
Once the fire was contained crews were kept busy for about a month putting out hot spots fueled by needle drop. They continued their efforts through October as roots growing deep underground caused potentially dangerous flair-ups. You can see the residual effects as large black earthen holes scattered here and there throughout areas of the park.
When Bastrop State Park reopened on December 2 about 75 percent of the interior trails and front three-quarters of the Piney Hill area were once more accessible to visitors.
But the fire had a dramatic impact on the Bastrop State Park budget.
"We are basically the top 5 parks in terms of revenue for the state. And this is one of our busiest times of the year," says Dolle. "We are already working on a shoestring budget that was dealt by the legislature. And we were banking on a decent amount of revenue this summer."
Some of the parks biggest revenue generators are the cabins. You still can't rent those. But, that's not because they are unsafe. They are being outfitted with new roofs as part of a capital improvement project. Look to book these charming 1930s accommodations in about three to four months.
Even before the flames took hold of the park, plans were being implemented to remove overhead power lines and bury them underground. The work is still underway, along with a TxDOT project to repave the roads.
"There was a lot of green left in the park," says Dolle. "A lot of the fire was beneficial, it didn't kill all the trees," says Dolle. "The Copperas Creek Camping Area looks just as good, if not better because the fire cleaned up a lot of pine needles and duff in the area."
"Duff" is a real word, you know. It refers to the natural layer of mulching pine needles, leaves and dead tree limbs that collect on the ground under the trees.
What you will notice once you travel back to the scenic overlook are the black trees and desolation. Trees standing within 100 feet of the roads have been cleared away. Others will be removed by hand so as to avoid damaging any nearby CCC structures. The remaining will be left to fall on their own. Where park rangers find them to be hazardous they will close down or reroute trails.
Driving along Park Road 1 A the area begins to look like a scene from outer space. Bare and gray and sooty. The tiny creeks are lined in black and the dull orange sandstone deposits don't help.
"It looks like a bomb went off," said Dolle. But, it is not just the aesthetics that he worries about.
"Erosion is our biggest hill to climb because we don't have anything to hold our soil in place," Dolle explains. "Although we welcome the rain, we can't take too much at one time cause it washes the soil away."
There are large areas that are closed off to visitors, and will remain so for quite some time.
"The north country is not open to the public to trails and primitive camping, but it burned mainly through the undeveloped area of the park," Dolle points out. "That's Houston toad habitat. We are sure he did survive, but in what numbers? We won't know that until spring."
Mother Nature has given us a bit of a break, though, delivering moisture to the area.
"There's some green coming back. Some of it is good, some of it not so good," says the site manager. "We have a lot of firs coming back, which is great. But we have a lot of invasive species, such as Chinaberry, some of your Chinese Tallow, Yaupon and species like that are coming back."
Oak trees that were burned are also coming back, sprouting from the roots.
"The problem is this was a pine forest, Loblolly Pine dominant, and that's really what we want this to go back as cause that's what the 'Lost Pines' is all about" says the site manager. "And if we leave this unchecked, the way this is coming back, it's going to be all Yaupon and oak. So we gotta really step up our prescribed fire program, and over the next couple of years keep those in check so the pine trees have a chance."
Those prescribed, or controlled, burns are what saved a chunk of the park. The September fire was less devastating in the areas where rangers had previously conducted controlled burns. There simply wasn't that much duff to kindle.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife officials are concerned that all these thriving little oaks, and some of the invasive species will make things difficult for Loblolly Pine seedlings that need sunlight to thrive.
"If these other fast-growing trees sprout up and block the sun, the pine trees there not going to survive," Dolle says.
But there are no Loblolly seedlings...not yet.
"This pine tree that we have in Bastrop is a drought-hardy Loblolly Pine. It's a special variety of species, and you can't find it anywhere else in the state or the United States. it's a one of a kind," Dolle explains. "Now, over the past 20 years or better there has been harvesting of seeds, just to keep a seed bank, just in case something like this would happen, and for other reasons, research-wise."
The Texas Forest Service has about a million and a half seeds right now, and they are wasting no time in distributing the seeds to government nurseries, universities, other Texas forest services and green houses to get those seeds germinating. They will germinate in the spring. Then the plan is to plant those in pots an start raising them.
"It's going to take probably at least a year to get them up to where they are big enough to plant in the ground and fend for themselves," says Dolle. "Our biggest issue is this drought that we are in. We are expecting to be right in the middle of a 20-year drought."
Dolle says the Forest Service seedlings will be available for the entire county.
"They will be more viable in someone's backyard where they can water it with their grass. We don't have an irrigation system for 6,000 acres so we can't put them out there in the middle of the drought," he says.
Some businesses, non-profit groups and volunteers are distributing seed balls to area residents. The mixtures include some fast-growing species, not strictly native plants. While it's a good idea to get something thriving in the ground, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department would like to keep exotic species in check so that a more native landscape can thrive once again. After all, the natives require less water and will be easier to maintain long-term.
It's a difficult row to hoe, even for the Parks Department. With the record-breaking Texas drought, and the damaging wildfires, the Texas State Parks say visitation is down and they need $4.6 million in order to stay open.
So, open up this link to find a Texas State Park in your area and go explore.
"We are open for business," reminds Dolle. "Every day is different. New green stuff pops up every day, everywhere."
Things are, indeed, sprouting up from the ashes in Bastrop State Park. Take your kids and see it happening.
Of course, Roger Dolle knows about that first hand. "Come see the park for the first time again and again because it's different every day."
