Roxanne and Elvis Hernandez considered themselves lucky in September 2011 when the wildfires that ravaged Bastrop County missed their property by about a mile. So last weekend, they set fire to their land themselves to protect it from the next wildfire.

On Saturday, Roxanne Hernandez walked through the dead weeds on their 53 acres, pouring out dollops of flaming fuel from a drip torch and watching a sporadic breeze push a line of flames across their land. A team of about 30 volunteers armed with shovels, rakes and heavy rubber flappers stood nearby to extinguish any errant embers.