AUSTIN -- Tuesday an Austin firefighter talked about his experiences in the last week fighting the Central Texas fires.
The Austin Fire Department sent 50 firefighters to help battle the Bastrop wildfires. The department also sent crews to other fires in Leander, Steiner Ranch, and Pedernales Bend.
They say sometimes visibility was less than 20 feet and the only available resources were things they carried into the fire zone.
"You've got a wind coming 35 miles per hour down your back," said Lt. Dimitri Nichols, who worked the Pedernales Bend fire. "At times we were kinda ducking for cover from the embers that were dropping down on us from above. Those trees would light off just like they'd misted in gasoline. They would throw off so much heat that 100 feet away you would be shielding yourself...You would feel the percussion of that thing; it would almost explode, it would light off so fast."
AFD still has a team assisting in the largest fire zone, Bastrop. Those people probably won't return to their regular duties until next week.
