A mistaken shelter-in-place alert overshadowed an otherwise controlled response to suspected explosives near Wimberley Thursday. Hays County officials apologized and said they would review the notification process after a bomb squad detonated the material in the 2700 block of Fischer Store Road, according to CBS Austin.
Hays County emergency dispatchers received a call about suspected explosive material at the Fischer Store Road property, roughly 10 miles west of Wimberley and about 45 miles southwest of Austin, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The Hays County Sheriff's Office, the county's Office of Emergency Services and its Fire Marshal's Office responded to assess the material.
Hays County then requested assistance from the Austin Police Department bomb squad and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Officials determined that a controlled detonation was safer than transporting or otherwise disposing of the material, according to CBS Austin.
Crews used a neighboring field for the detonation
A nearby property owner allowed crews to use an open field, where the material was destroyed in a controlled detonation, according to CBS Austin. Controlled detonations have also been used elsewhere in Texas; in Southeast Bexar County, San Antonio police evacuated people within 1,000 feet after TNT and another unidentified explosive material were found during a residence cleanup, according to news4sanantonio.com.
Jake Vierra said county officials intended to tell nearby residents that they might hear or feel an explosion. Instead, residents near the site received a shelter-in-place notification, although officials said the incident posed no threat to the public.
County Apologizes and Plans Alert-System Review
The shelter-in-place notification was sent in error, and Vierra apologized, saying there was no threat to the public during the incident, according to CBS Austin. County officials also apologized for the broader alerting mistake.
The Hays County Fire Marshal's Office said it will conduct an internal review to determine how the notification error occurred and what changes could make future alerts clearer, more accurate and appropriate.
How Texas officials have documented alerting problems
Recent Texas cases show that alerting failures can involve delays. In a separate account, ABC News reported that the first Kerr County CodeRED alert arrived 90 minutes after a firefighter requested one and that officials said an after-action review would follow.
Hays County's public emergency-management information says the county judge directs emergency management and appoints an emergency management coordinator, while the Office of Emergency Services manages the Emergency Operations Center and its Special Operations Branch coordinates explosive-ordnance-device and regional hazardous-material deployments, according to Hays County's Office of Emergency Management.
What county planning documents say about emergency alerts
Hays County's public emergency-management information identifies the county judge as the director of emergency management and says the judge appoints an emergency management coordinator to oversee day-to-day emergency-management and homeland-security programs. The county also says its Office of Emergency Services activates and manages the Emergency Operations Center during a major emergency or disaster, while its Special Operations Branch coordinates explosive-ordnance-device and regional hazardous-material deployments, according to Hays County's Office of Emergency Management. Those public descriptions outline the county's emergency-management roles and operational capabilities but do not specify the approval steps for sending a shelter-in-place alert. Separately, HaysInformed says hazard-mitigation plans typically include a risk assessment, capability assessment, mitigation strategy and procedures for maintaining the plan. The Fire Marshal's internal review is expected to address how those notification procedures should work in this case.
Investigators Link the Material to a Man Who Died Last Month
Investigators believe the explosive material found on the Fischer Store Road property was tied to Robert Chapman, a 40-year-old Wimberley man. Officials said Chapman drowned in Canyon Lake last month and is now deceased, according to the same reporting.
