Hardy Party of 4

Just after church on Sunday, a few wildfires began in our area. The closest one to us was out by Monday morning and burned just 200 acres in Pflugerville, about 8 miles from us. I know, I said "just". But, if you were here to see all the smoke and smell the burning homes today, you would know that 200 burned acres is miniscule now.

A large, upscale subdivision near Daniel's workplace in Austin was on fire and he barely got out of work Sunday evening before the roads were closed. That fire is still burning but the residents were finally allowed to drive through the subdivision today and see what has burned.

When we went to dinner Sunday night in Cedar Park, we were inundated by the smoke. Watching the news a few hours later, we saw that another two subdivisions near the restaurant had been evacuated and were on fire.


The Bastrop fire, which is just now 30% contained today, is the largest fire that started Sunday. It's now burned 35,000 acres and 1,387 homes. The parents of Daniel's best friend and best man in our wedding, Bruce and Nita Ward, live in one of the first of 20 subdivisions that were evacuated Sunday night. They are still in a hotel and waiting to find out if their home survived the massive fire. The initial news does not look good for them.

Late Monday night, Daniel alerted a co-worker who would be at work through the night that the area he lived in was beginning evacuations as a new fire spread to Dripping Springs. By Tuesday morning, the co-worker was forced to find alternate routes as three different roads were closed in his usual hour-long commute home. Fortunately, his home remained safe.

By Monday night, the entire city of Austin had large wildfires almost entirely circling the city. The northeast side, where we live, is the only area that has not had a large fire burning.


Today when I took the kids to school, the smoke in the air was so thick that visibility was limited. By the time I arrived at work, my throat hurt and my eyes burned. It was as if I had been sitting at a campfire for a few hours. The school kept the kids inside all day to avoid respiratory issues. No one has complained about the situation, though. The air is filled with ash from the homes of thousands of people. Discomfort and breathing issues aside, we feel blessed to be safe during this time.

Please pray for the many, many firefighters who are in our area battling this massive fire.

Please pray for the thousands of people who have lost their homes and every possession.

Please pray for rain to end this awful drought in Texas.