Steiner Ranch Wildfire

Residents of Steiner Ranch were allowed to return to their homes at noon on Tuesday to assess the damages, officials said.

As of 1 p.m., both entrances to Steiner Ranch were opened. Cars were allowed in at Quinlan Park and Steiner Ranch Boulevard off Highway 620.

Bastrop Wildfire

Smithville has canceled all classes on Wednesday, as officials did on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Bastrop ISD has canceled classes through the remainder of the week. There is no phone access at the schools.

Evacuees are being accepted at the Smithville Recreation Center and First Baptist Smithville. Donations of clothes, bedding, personal care items and towels are being accepted on Main Street in Smithville.

Officials said 550 homes in Bastrop have been destroyed. The main fire is burning in an area 24 miles long and 20 miles wide, burning 34,000 acres.

Power outages affect more than 4,300 meters in the Bluebonnet Electric Co-op service area. A total of 20 neighborhoods have been evacuated.

With the lull in high winds, Tuesday's efforts have been more successful than Monday's work to control the massive burn, officials said.

“While we have zero containment of the main fire at the moment, we now have resources, thanks to the state and federal government, beginning to pour into Bastrop County -- with the change in weather, and the additional firefighting resources,” said McDonald. “Additionally, a smaller but dangerous fire has started in the Cedar Creek area, which is being referred to as the Union Chapel fire. Local, state, and federal resources are being devoted to this fire now.”

McDonald emphasized that a ‘Boil Water Notice’ is still in effect for the foreseeable future for virtually all of Bastrop County south of U.S. Highway 290, except for the Cities of Bastrop, Elgin and Smithville.