Fire-ravaged Bastrop State Park reopens

BASTROP (KXAN) - The old gal is still beautiful, if a bit scarred.

The Bastrop State Park reopened Friday, three months after the wildfires charred much of her 6,000 acres.

The park was a ghost town Friday, probably because of the early afternoon rain. But word will get out.

About half the camp sites and one quarter of the facilities are open, but all of the primitive hiking areas remain closed for public safety.

Park Assistant Superintendent Roger Dolle says, "There's a lot of hazards out there from dead timber to fallen trees or limbs falling from trees. Stump holes, a lot of roots, jagged things sticking out of the ground. It burned up a lot of the areas."

Another reason for the off limits? Many of the paths are slopey and they are worried about dangerous ground erosion.

More of the park will reopen as paths are cleared of danger, but that is expected to take some time.

Bastrop State Park opened in 1937, noted for its beautiful and stately Lost Pines. It may be years or even decades before the park is anything like we remember.