Page 5 - Thayer Smith News Today

Austin is the first Texas city to adopt a Wildland Urban Interface Code — which holds new buildings in at-risk areas to higher fire standards.

AFD responded to several fires across the city in the past week. Fire officials are warning residents of the critical risk for wildfires.

USA Rare Earth said it wants to develop the Round Top project to support a domestic mine-to-magnet supply chain.

Company’s Round Top Project Contains 22 of the 50 Critical Minerals Included in Draft List Recently Released by the U.S. Geological Survey TAMPA, FL,...

A fire broke out at a homeless camp early Friday along Lady Bird Lake, Austin fire officials said.  Firefighters responded about 6:30 a.m. to the fire in the 700 block of West Cesar Chavez Street and put out the blaze within 5 to 10 minutes, said Division Chief Thayer Smith. The area is across from Austin Central Library.  Multiple items were burned in the fire, including a tent, shopping carts and other belongings, Smith said. The estimated damage to the camp is around $200, he said. Peopl...

A fire at a homeless encampment near Interstate 35 and Texas 71 forced authorities to close multiple lanes of traffic in the area, Austin Fire Department officials said Sunday morning. The fire was reported at about 9:45 a.m. near I-35 in the 700 block of East Ben White Boulevard (Texas 71), according to information from Austin fire officials and the Texas Department of Transportation. “All the tents were on fire in the camp,” Fire Division Chief Thayer Smith said. Investigators deter...

Austin firefighters on Friday battled a fast-moving grass fire outside modern East Austin condominiums just off Interstate 35. The blaze broke out just before 2 p.m. in the 800 block of Embassy Drive at the Tyndall at Robertson Hill, the Austin Fire Department reported. The fire, which authorities said was caused by a worker using a weed eater, scorched grass along a hill outside the condos and destroyed some landscaping including several trees. "It burned right up to the building, but didnt...

A fire displaced about 10 residents at a West Campus apartment complex Tuesday afternoon, said Thayer Smith, division chief of the Austin Fire Department.

A deadly cold descended on Texas this week. At least 58 people have died in storm-affected areas stretching to Ohio, including victims of carbon monoxide poisoning, car crashes, drownings, house fires and hypothermia.

Austin and Travis County area first emergency workers say they are being flooded with calls requesting medical services and reporting broken water pipes amid severe winter weather in the region. Captain Darren Noak, a spokesman for Austin-Travis County EMS, said the emergency crews have received more than 1,200 calls for service as of 9:30 p.m. "Ive been here 25 years and this is the busiest," Noak said. "Ive never seen calls over 1,200. On a busy day with a special event, 500 or 600, mayb...