Wildfires Punishing Wide Areas of Texas
& Federal Judge Slams State of Texas Over Abuse Allegations at Bastrop Refuge
Hello again friends,
It’s time for another pile of updates— after losing track of at least one story for a few days. It’s not the end of the world, if anything, it’s made a few things clearer.
Firstly of course is the W. Nueces Wildfire— still burning in the Northeastern part of Kinney County, and now involving firefighters from Uvalde and Edwards County, attacking the firelines from their sides of the blaze.
This morning (March 31), Texas A & M Forest Service was signaling that the blaze is about 80-percent contained, and up to 1750 acres by their count. As noted earlier, local officials have put the acreage at around 6000, but either way— it’s a pretty huge fire by any reasonable standard.
At the same time— another wildfire in the area that had been more or less put to rest and unmentioned in the dispatch until now— the Burr Ranch fire, has flared back up again. This fire is in the opposite direction— over toward Eagle Pass, and Maverick County. It’s not so large, but a very unwelcome addition to the woes already underway.
Breezy dry winds of the sort long familiar to folks who’ve experienced the California seasonal wildfires are basically to blame, along with the punishingly dry conditions in the area.
At one point this week, officials estimated 900 firefighters were at work battling fires scattered around the state of Texas— some were sent from out-of-state to help, some coming from as far away as Alaska.
This link here, should take you to the Texas A & M Forest Service’s handy-dandy map, showing active and recently-active firespots around the State.
One blaze, large enough to garner nationwide coverage, called the “Crittenberg Complex,” in Coryell, County near Waco, was actually 3 different fires merging together to scorch about 33-thousand acres.
While looking for fresh details on the fires in Kinney County, we stumbled upon a pretty good post from a local resident on Facebook, that kind of sums things up.
It’s a picture of the same spot— nice and green in 2017. Not so much this week.
If you look closely and compare the two photos, you can see that even the tree limbs seem to be wilting in the heat.
Local ranchers have been housing and feeding firefighters in Kinney County, keeping them closer to the firelines in relative comfort and saving them from having to camp rough, or drive back and forth from town.
City of Brackettville Mayor Eric Martinez has also been visible, organizing donations of helpful things like eye drops and lip balm and electrolyte packets. According to him, firefighters have been amply supplied with bottled water.
Moving on to an update on The Refuge, a seemingly troubled compound in Bastrop, Texas, and privately operated shelter for teenage girls who’ve been victimized by sex trafficking— the Texas Tribune has stayed on top of the story for all it’s worth, as testimony continued this week in Austin.
This all follows allegations that staffers at the site may’ve continued to victimize some of the girls— taking nude photos to barter for drugs and alcohol among other allegations.
This morning, there’s word that charges are going to be filed by the Federal Government in the case— after Judge Janis Jack slammed the Texas Rangers for a letter of preliminary findings that suggested there was no evidence of sex trafficking or abuse at the facility.
Federal Charges would include child pornography, and obstruction of justice.
Texas State Officials have so far declined to comment.
Brook Crowder, the CEO of The Refuge, issued the following statement, after hearings ended in Austin.
Given our commitment to providing the best possible care to the victims of trafficking, we will continue fully cooperating with the multiple agencies investigating the two episodes of egregious employee misconduct we immediately reported earlier this year. When complete, we are confident their parallel investigations will reveal our continued adherence to the highest standard of care for the girls in our care.”
—Brooke Crowder, CEO, The Refuge
For now, The Refuge is shuttered and closed— authorities have relocated 11 girls that were staying there.
As long time readers can attest, we try to avoid focusing too much on the daily intake on the highways and ranches as area lawmen and DPS Brush Teams try to keep up with illegal alien and drug traffic, in the absence of most major efforts by U.S. Border Patrol.
But, an interesting wrinkle yesterday, as noted by Galveston County Constable Jimmy Fullen. Deputies made three different stops in and around Kinney County, all just miles from each other, and all three smuggling suspects were from Galveston County.
All three stops were said to have been made within minutes of each other.
Weird.
What are the odds that all three suspects were being paid by the same individual or organization?
Just in case any recent subscribers are unaware, Galveston County Sheriff’s Deputies and Deputy Constables from Places 2 and 4 have been volunteering to come out to Kinney County and support efforts here for some time now, with Constable Fullen having made at least 9 visits
It’s being done as part of a memorandum of understanding and mutual aid between the two counties. One major stipulation in the agreement is that any deputies coming to Kinney County have to be willing volunteers with no “volun-telling.”
We’re told many of them have been enjoying the change of pace— law enforcement on the island of Galveston has a geographically necessitated different flavor with a little less highway emphasis.
It’s been faintly controversial in some quarters, with critics suggesting Galveston County resources should be staying in Galveston County. Supporters point to incidents like this one, saying it’s worth their time to interdict such traffic here, before it reaches the Island and other points north.
That should do it for now, though we still have to make time for another embarrassing correction, already noted on the website, but perhaps un-noticed by our email readers. Yesterday’s dispatch referred to a Henry Flores, as Kinney County EMS Director. That is of course entirely incorrect. The man’s name is Henry Garcia. The name Flores belongs to a different Henry, from Webb County, who we used to interview quite frequently once upon a time. To both men’s credit, they share similar features, including a reassuring air of competence at their jobs. Apologies to our readers, and to Mr. Garcia. Senior moments can be distressing— especially when you’re not yet senior.
Now would be a good time for our usual disclaimer, noting our employment at the Kinney County Sheriff’s Office, and the existence of this newsletter as an independent work product, put out into the world without oversight or input from County officials, and any opinions, or *ahem* errors, are ours alone.
Have a great morning, and we’ll see you again soon.