BLANCO COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Dozens of homes were evacuated during the Smoke Rider Fire near 2325 and FM 165 Tuesday afternoon.

Blanco County resident Ed Vaughan lives in the area where the fire raged on. His neighborhood was evacuated, but he chose to stay.

He’s a former Henly volunteer firefighter, so Vaughan said he felt comfortable staying put.

“There was an awful lot of smoke up near my gate but on the other side,” Vaughan said.

He said he’s never seen something like this in his 22 years living in the Hill Country.

Image of smoke, trees burned to the ground and ash across the hill country
Vaughan said he believes 40 acres of his property was burned during the Smoke Rider Fire.

“I think they had a couple of trucks up here when the fire got a little it closer,” Vaughan said.

Spokesperson for Texas A&M Forest Service Walter Flocke said this brush fire isn’t typical for the area.

“Hays County, Blanco County we usually at most years, we don’t see fires this size,” Flocke said.

He said getting the fire under control has been difficult because of weather conditions.

“So humidity is a little bit lower and our winds are a bit higher today,” Flocke said.

As for Vaughan, while he’s surrounded by fallen trees, ash and smoke, he feels lucky his home was left untouched by the fire.

“There’s really nothing you can do about it. The house all the structure was completely spared. I don’t have any complaint at all,” Vaughan said.

Flocke said a majority of the fire crews are stationed over on the Northern part of this fire which hopped over U.S. 290. He said forward progression of the fire has stopped.