Travis County, City of Austin issue disaster declarations as wildfire risk rises

Travis County Judge Andy Brown and Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said they have signed disaster declarations for Travis County and the city of Austin, respectively, as officials warned that dry conditions and recent brush fires have pushed wildfire risk to critical levels.

The declarations, Brown and Watson said at a joint briefing with local fire and emergency officials, are intended to “proactively access resources, streamline emergency coordination and reinforce wildfire prevention efforts.” Brown said, “On Friday, I signed a disaster declaration for Travis County as a precaution due to the heightened wildfire risks that we're all seeing.” Watson said the city has issued its own declaration and stressed the county and city are coordinating response and preparedness work.

The declarations come after at least two brush fires over the weekend that were contained by local and state responders. Brown and other officials noted one fire was near Pilot Knob and that another incident involved mowing; Brown said one weekend fire led to a citation for violating the burn ban. The county has…