The Camp Bullis Fire, What Happened?

I’m no stranger to fires; from a displaced vacation, a small fire last year on our property, even the 2016 Camp Bullis fires that evacuated us, I’m even sure there are a few more small situations that I forget about now.

As luck would have it we weren’t home Saturday April 9th. It was our extended families pre-Easter celebration out of town and we were gone for the day. The party was winding down and at about 6 pm, I sat on my phone scrolling through FB. I read a post on one of the local fire departments page that they were assisting in the Camp Bullis Fire. My house sits at the nothern tip of the military base that spans 27,000 acres, I wasn’t necessarily concerned. More nosey about the situation than anything.

I sent a text to my neighbor, who wasn’t home either. Over the next 45 minutes, I received a series of texts that the situation was probably serious and threatening our area. Then a text that said our street was being evacuated. Say no more, we booked it home and I called another neighbor to keep me posted. I needed to get home to my animals. It wasn’t until we crossed the hill leading up to our street after 8pm, where a Comal County fire Commander and police stood. We made it home and I aimlessly walked through my home wondering what I would pack up. What do you take aside from yourself, your family, animals, a few important documents, and photos? I tossed some things in a suitcase and just kind of walked around not even wanting to read twitter or facebook for updates.

We decided it was best to stay home as long as safely possible and with the fire department patrolling the back portion of our homes, I felt content letting them give us the update on a mandatory evacuation, not just a voluntary one. Just after 10:30 pm we received an update that our local fire department would turn on their sirens and go door to door if we needed to leave. At midnight another update came through that things were looking good and we should have a quiet night, a reverse 911 and amber style alert would come to us if an issue arises. It was a good sign, but we were still on edge. I slept horrible and looked at my phone constantly throughout the night.

We woke up to a very quiet scene, the fire department wasn’t at the end of our street, but now posted a quarter of a mile down, the smell of oak dissipated, and I could hardly see smoke. Nothing like the scene the day before. Another update came through that the fire crews worked through the night producing fire breaks and our homes were not in the danger they were previously in. We were told to stay alert, but that things were looking good. The wind picked up around 11am and smoke filled the air along with the smell of a heavy bonfire. We watched all day as planes and aero tankers flew by to drop water into the artillery areas that were off limits to fire crews.

By the end of day, the containment grew to 50% and the threat to our homes was no more, we were told all evacuations were over. Unpacking things was a wake up call as to what we would necessarily need if we are ever in this situation again.

But what happened at Camp Bullis April 9, 2022? We were sitting on a high alert red flag warning day. Training with any sort of artillery should not have been in motion. The danger to the community and the resources that are still on going should have a major impact on future training.

The fire has been contained over 70% inside Camp Bullis and never left their confines as of this morning April 11, 2022. We are currently in a state of watching and praying for the responders to the fire. Camp Bullis is a dangerous situation not just from the current raging fire that is left, but the artillery that sits on that military base. We can still smell the burning oak trees, there is very little sign of smoke, and things seem to be moving in a safer direction for everyone involved.