Trees Being Replaced After Bastrop Wildfire

Thousands of pine seedlings grown at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas are being packed up and shipped for planting in Bastrop County.

There, they’ll replace trees lost in a disastrous wildfire nearly two years ago.

The Austin wildflower center is among tree growers contracted with the Texas Forest Service’s reforestation program for the Central Texas county. Some 6 million trees are to be planted over the next several years.

The 2011 fire destroyed 1,691 homes and burned 33,000 acres.

The trees were organized Thursday by wildflower center staff and volunteers will be used for planting events this weekend. The center itself is nearly doubling its size to handle its portion of the Bastrop tree project.