TEXAS FIRES
- Thread starter Rudi
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No such thing as a 'good' wildfire....
...but this is a bad one. Would it make sense for the states/feds to procure a fleet of flying tankers since this is ALWAYS a huge problem? I suppose it would cost money, so it's probably out. I know one thing. It used to be mostly acreage that got burned, but with more populated areas it's now communities.
...but this is a bad one. Would it make sense for the states/feds to procure a fleet of flying tankers since this is ALWAYS a huge problem? I suppose it would cost money, so it's probably out. I know one thing. It used to be mostly acreage that got burned, but with more populated areas it's now communities.
The news said 80% of the cattle in Texas is in that area.
jcs266
Member
What a nightmare. Prayers and thoughts to all those effected. I feel so bad for the livestock also. A terrible loss and waste.
I grew up in that area and even if I have no family left in the panhandle it kind of hits home. I worked for my Uncle on his ranch and he had some 75000 acres of farm and pasture land. Sure hate to see any of it burn.
LVSteve
Member
I read the news reports and started looking up where these towns are located. On a map it became apparent that the amount of land burned is huge. Some of the locations were 20 miles or more apart.
Maui was drought, wind, non-native grasses, and a fire started from a power line.
And a poor/delayed response to the fire, from what I've read...
My extended family lives in the Panhandle - Amarillo, Canadian, Pampa, Stratford, and Dalhart.
In Canadian, folks were told to evacuate, but couldn't because of the fire blocking the roads in and out. My cousin lost some out buildings. My aunt told me the historic Canadian bridge burned.
Other than that, everybody seems to be OK - I haven't heard anything else.
In Canadian, folks were told to evacuate, but couldn't because of the fire blocking the roads in and out. My cousin lost some out buildings. My aunt told me the historic Canadian bridge burned.
Other than that, everybody seems to be OK - I haven't heard anything else.
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Yep. Bet they were set as punishment.
Over a million acres!
By comparison...
By comparison...
LVSteve
Member
Too busy trying to get it under control, saving lives, and saving property to be worried about how it started at this stage.
LVSteve
Member
The fire was observed by satellite to start at this location.
35.847875°, -101.43265°
Paste that into Google Maps. If you do a street view, there are more potential sources of ignition than I can count, especially given the high winds in the area at the time.
I would post a Google Maps link but apparently that is a no-no, either on this site or theirs.
35.847875°, -101.43265°
Paste that into Google Maps. If you do a street view, there are more potential sources of ignition than I can count, especially given the high winds in the area at the time.
I would post a Google Maps link but apparently that is a no-no, either on this site or theirs.
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A lawsuit has been filed claiming that poor maintenance of utility poles led to one snapping. The suit goes on to say the high winds caused the pole to snap, allowing live lines to hit the ground, starting the fire. Seems plausible to me.
mckenney99
Member
Can someone explain why there does not appear to be any use of air tankers being used? Is their use just not being reported or is there some other logical reason for that not being a viable option?
This is a serious question where I seek education on the use of this resource.
This is a serious question where I seek education on the use of this resource.
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Most of the wildfires making news in Texas are on the High Plains, otherwise know as "the Panhandle" to non-Texans. Virtually the entirety of the High Plains received well above average rainfall last spring and summer; it's not a true desert but there's a lot of 15 inch annual rainfall areas on the High Plains (less than 10 is "true desert in Texas). Some areas around Amarillo got well over 35 inches of rain last year and some areas much more.
Consequently we experienced something similar to California when they have lots of rainfall. We had lots more fuel in the form of dried plant matter than usual. We have wildfires across Central and West Texas every year and the causes are pretty varied. Around here welding fences or wind turbines causes a share as does shredded trailer tires and wheel rims dragging on the road surface. It is not uncommon to incur straight line winds capable of toppling wood power poles.
Biggest losses, so far, seem to be livestock. And, of course, the surviving stock doesn't have much to eat just now so there's a big effort to get hay onto the High Plains to hold them over.
I made the acquaintance of a dryland (no irrigation) farmer near Brownfield, TX 100 or so miles south of Lubbock when making my agronomy rounds years ago. He was exceptionally bright and was making it work with around 12 inches of natural precipitation annually. When I asked how much rain he got, and he told me, I remarked it didn't seem like very much. He agreed but added "But you ought to be here the day it happens."
Consequently we experienced something similar to California when they have lots of rainfall. We had lots more fuel in the form of dried plant matter than usual. We have wildfires across Central and West Texas every year and the causes are pretty varied. Around here welding fences or wind turbines causes a share as does shredded trailer tires and wheel rims dragging on the road surface. It is not uncommon to incur straight line winds capable of toppling wood power poles.
Biggest losses, so far, seem to be livestock. And, of course, the surviving stock doesn't have much to eat just now so there's a big effort to get hay onto the High Plains to hold them over.
I made the acquaintance of a dryland (no irrigation) farmer near Brownfield, TX 100 or so miles south of Lubbock when making my agronomy rounds years ago. He was exceptionally bright and was making it work with around 12 inches of natural precipitation annually. When I asked how much rain he got, and he told me, I remarked it didn't seem like very much. He agreed but added "But you ought to be here the day it happens."
There really isn't any place to get water out there; I mean high volumes in short periods of time. No lakes or surface water to speak of. Thus tankers aren't considered terribly practical due to the distances they'd have to go to get refilled.
Fire retardant apparently doesn't work that well in the kind of wind conditions the High Plains is experiencing and some worry about its effect on stock and range-land rebound. The usual methods rely a lot on cutting firebreaks with dozers but the high winds have made making sufficiently wide firebreaks pretty challenging.
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