Don't mind me today.  I'm in a giddy, non-serious mood today.  I blame it on the lack of oxygen to the brain due to the heavy smoke and ash of recent days.  Yesterday it was so bad that we could hardly breathe.

Though the fires were 85% contained day before yesterday, strong gusts whipped up the fires and placed it back at 50% contained.  The fires have now jumped another major road and have started burning homes near the Ranch Crest golf course, so now they're doing air drops with a DC-10.

So far, the fire has burned approximately 21, 600 acres total and rising.  A lot of people have lost their homes and a lot of animals have been displaced.  For those of you who get off on airplanes and jets, here's an ABC 13 video of an air drop.





To date, 4,500 homes had to be evacuated and fifty-eight homes have been destroyed, not counting barns and other structures.

From ABC 13 News.

"According to Texas Forest Service, the plane dropped 11,000 gallons of diammonium phosphate fertilizer in the area along FM 1488 near the Texas Renaissance Festival. That area, along with several other areas, have been plagued with flare-ups. The plane had been scheduled to make a drop on the Bastrop County fire, but authorities said it wasn't needed due to the progress being made there. The DC-10 made another drop after 12pm and more are expected Friday afternoon."

There were four Blachawk helicopters dropping water about the same time that the DC-10 drop was made.  Some of them passed over our house on the way to the fire.  The wind has shifted now, so we're starting to see smoke in the sky again, but the break this morning was more than welcome.

It's starting to get a little hard to breathe again, but not as bad as it was yesterday when the smoke was so heavy.  Hopefully the fires will be under control before too much longer.  If not, it's going to be a fun weekend.