Photo of the day: Texas wildfire

Well, the Texas wildfires are officially too close to home. My home is in East Austin and the sky outside is filled with a hazy smoke. We had the windows open this week for the first time in months, but now they are closed so we can protect our lungs from this certainly unhealthy smoke pouring in. The largest, most damaging nearby fire has been in Bastrop, Texas–about 20 miles east of where I am. But the fires are sparking up in every direction, leaving a thick fog over the city of Austin, but also much anxiety.

A friend and fellow traveler, Ashley Halligan, ventured toward Bastrop yesterday and took this shot. No matter the vintage effects on this photo, the ominous smoke makes itself terribly clear. It’s a scary time right now in Texas, to say the least. Please keep everyone who has been affected by the fires in your thoughts.

And if you’d like to submit a photo for Photo of The Day, just upload it to the Gadling Flickr Pool.

Texas wildfires: photos by National Geographic

Despite my living in Texas these days, the seriousness of the recent spate of wildfires in Texas didn’t really sink in until I checked out National Geographic and saw photos from the fire. An album recently published on www.nationalgeographic.com features photos from the Texas fires–gripping ones. National Geographic’s photographers are (of course) known for their excellence. These photos vividly bring to life a hot and pretty horrible reality that many Texans are now facing.

The wildfires in Texas are a result of a combination of factors. A fierce, hot drought is upon the state; that’s a factor. But the strong winds Texas has had lately are the true culprit behind the massive spreading of fire. More than a million acres have been burned in Texas during this fire season.

Follow this link to check out the collection of fiery photos.