Texas Fires

[Texas Ranger]

Texas has the worse fie season in generations,with near 3 million acres burned, big ones in the hundreds of thousands of acres.

Check here for pictures:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/

[Cedarman]

TT, is that mostly Ashe Juniper and Mesquite burning?  What happens to the land after these fires go through?  Is is helpful or does it hurt the land?

[thecfarm]

That's too bad. 

[Texas Ranger]

The Great Plains of Texas were grasslands, now, with fire kept out for years, and over grazed, the brush takes over.  Yes on Ashe Juniper,Mesquite and salt willow.  End results will be grass land, less a lot of buildings.

[Woodwalker]

I'm sitting here with wooded National Forest on two sides and private forest on a third an an over grown field/forest on the fourth. It hasn't rained enough to measure this year and we were still very much on the dry side of the scale from last year. When I smell smoke I get very worried. 
Then to top things off there is a Forestery Service prescribed burn notice nailed  to a tree just outside my front gate date 4-1-11 and 4-2-11. It would have been the second half of a two day burn, but after killing what looks like a good amount of mature timber in the first burn down the road a mile or so, I guess someone wised up to the fact it is just too dry to burn the woods off. We were already under a burn ban in this and every surrounding county and I cannot comprehend the logic of prescribed burning under these conditions. 

[Bobus2003]

I'm sitting here with wooded National Forest on two sides and private forest on a third an an over grown field/forest on the fourth. It hasn't rained enough to measure this year and we were still very much on the dry side of the scale from last year. When I smell smoke I get very worried. 
Then to top things off there is a Forestery Service prescribed burn notice nailed  to a tree just outside my front gate date 4-1-11 and 4-2-11. It would have been the second half of a two day burn, but after killing what looks like a good amount of mature timber in the first burn down the road a mile or so, I guess someone wised up to the fact it is just too dry to burn the woods off. We were already under a burn ban in this and every surrounding county and I cannot comprehend the logic of prescribed burning under these conditions. 

Was on a Prescribed Burn 2 years ago and it was written in the burn plan that we could have up too 65% Mortality rate among mature P-pine, and 85% Mortality rate in Young stands

[Texas Ranger]

Current situation:

·         Elevated fire weather conditions continue northwest of a line from Fort Worth to Del Rio including the Panhandle, Southern Panhandle, and up to Interstate 40.

·         Texas Forest Service responded yesterday to two new large fires in Wichita and Hardeman counties.

·         We currently are responding to 13 large fires that have burned 130,341 acres.

·         The Miles Fire in Wheeler County (500 acres), Boyken Fire in Howard County (5,067 acres), and Mitchell Ranch 2 Fire in Crockett County (3,212 acres) have been contained. 

·         230 of the 254 Texas counties are reporting burn bans.

·         Detailed fire information can be found at inciweb.org.

·         Questions about evacuations, burn bans and fireworks bans should be directed to the county judge, sheriff’s office or emergency management coordinator.

 

New large fires from yesterday (more than 100 acres in timber, 300 acres in lighter fuels):

 

SIX-MILE CUTOFF, Wichita County.  500 acres, 95 percent contained.  The fire was burning very actively yesterday.  One outbuilding and several vehicles were destroyed in this fast-moving fire.

FM 1166, Hardeman County.  400 acres, unknown containment.  The fire is burning toward the Red River. Two heavy airtankers and single-engine airtankers worked the fire yesterday. Six homes were saved.

 

Uncontained fires from previous days (more than 100 acres in timber, 300 acres in lighter fuels):

 

WHITE HAT, Coke and Nolan Counties. 72,473 acres, 95 percent contained. The fire is burning just south of Maryneal.  Eight homes, eight outbuildings and three vehicles were destroyed. A power substation received heavy damage. 

BEARING, Polk and Trinity Counties.  20,222 acres, 97 percent contained.  The fire is burning near Carmona.  Two homes and six cabins were destroyed.

DYER MILL, Grimes County.  5,280 acres, 97 percent contained.  Thirty homes are confirmed destroyed, along with three businesses. More than 1,000 homes and businesses were evacuated; the evacuation order has been lifted. This fire is burning approximately 3 miles east of Whitehall.

TRENT MESA, Taylor County. 644 acres, 90 percent contained. This fire is burning 8 miles southwest of Merkel. Numerous wind turbines are threatened.

McDONALD II, Clay County.  5,915 acres, 50 percent contained.  The fire was threatening the town of Henrietta.  Evacuations of numerous homes and businesses took place.

ROCK CREEK, Stonewall County.  9,500 acres, 80 percent contained.  The fire is burning 7 miles northeast of Aspermont in tall grass. 

JRM, Throckmorton County.  7,000 acres, 95 percent contained.  This fire is a complex of four lightning fires near Throckmorton. Twelve homes were threatened.

NANCE RANCH, Randall County.  607 acres, 90 percent contained.  Two single-engine airtankers and a TFS task force worked the fire burning in grass 6 miles east of Canyon.  Twelve homes were saved.

FINIS, Young County. 393 acres, 90 percent contained. This fire is burning approximately 8 miles southeast of Graham.

ALEXANDER, Jones County. 407 acres, 90 percent contained. Three homes and cattle were threatened. This fire is burning 13 miles north of Abilene.

RICHARDSON, Garza County. 7,000 acres, 95 percent contained. Twelve homes were threatened on this fire burning in grass and juniper six miles northwest of Post.


Fire numbers:

Since fire season started on Nov. 15, 2010, Texas Forest Service and area fire departments have responded to 12,985 fires that have burned 3,268,011 acres. These figures are updated every Monday and Friday.

[sandhills]

My prayers are with you folks, over 3 million acres, that's a lot of ground and a lot of fire.  It's amazing how many of the fires are 90% or better contained, hats off to the crews fighting them, stay safe.

[Woodwalker]

For IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 25, 2011
 
Texas Forest Service releases economic impact estimates on Dyer Mills, Bearing fires
 
"COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Significant damage to forest land, timber and the environment was reported on two major Texas fires this week, causing estimated losses that total millions of dollars.
 
The Dyer Mill Fire in Grimes County burned 5,280 acres, and along with the heavy toll to people and property, the fire also had profound impacts to the region’s forest sector.
 
The total stumpage value of timber destroyed by the Dyer Mill fire ranges from $2.5 to $3.6 million. Forest Inventory and Analysis data indicates total volume of timber lost ranges from 4.7 to 6.7 million cubic feet.
 
“The lost timber volume could have been used to produce forest products such as lumber, plywood and paper products worth a total of $53.5 million,” said Chris Edgar, a forest resource analyst with Texas Forest Service. “That level of forest industry economic activity could have supported a total economic activity in East Texas of $92.7 million.” 
 
Additionally, the Bearing Fire in Trinity and Polk counties – the largest fire in East Texas history – burned more than 23,000 acres, with an estimated stumpage value of timber destroyed at $12.8 million to $18.3 million.
 
The lost timber volume on the Bearing Fire could have been used to produce forest products worth a total of $243.5 million.
 
The Bearing Fire may have short- and long- term effects on local timber markets. In the short term, timber prices could drop if any significant salvage, however unlikely, occurs due to an increase of timber entering into the market.
 
The value of timber ranks first among the top agricultural commodities, and the wood-based industry is the largest manufacturing sector in Trinity County. Forest industries directly contributed $48 million of industry output to the Trinity County economy in 2007, employing 190 people with a payroll of $7.6 million."
 
I spent three days last week restoring power to the area in and around the Dyer Mill fire. The area is rural, timbered but subdivided into five to ten acre tracks. A lot of mobile homes and middle class people who work in one of the surrounding towns and live in the country.  The reports say over 5,000 acres and 30 something homes burned. I counted 26 burned homes in the area I was in. I've worked a lot of tornadoes, several hurricanes, ice storms wind storms and floods, but this was my first wildfire. By far the fire damage is the worst of the lot. These people have nothing left but ashes.
Were it not for the inch and a half of rain we received, I have no idea how much more would have burned.
If we don't get some more rain, I fear how much more will burn.
We have a "grab it and go bag" setting by the door. It's got some of our papers, pictures and such we don't want to lose. Also have a cattle trailer hooked up in hopes of getting the horses out if time permits.

[Texas Ranger]

Good luck, WW, and hope you don't need that grab bag.  It does look bad, the woods are incredibly dry, worse than I have seen in 40 years.  And the bad part is it is deep dry, it will take a lot to get the ground moisture  up to where the fine fuel moisture stays up.

Pray for rain and for our fire fighters.

[WDH]

It is a good thing that I did a bunch of control burns on the property in San Jacinta and Trinity counties over the last few years  .

[Texas Ranger]

It will help. but as dry as it is, anything will burn.

[Woodwalker]

I'm seeing a good bit of Red Oak dead and dieing in my traveling around here. I figure the drought is the reason. There are three dead ones near the house, one inside the yard fence that I'm going to have to get a rope in to fall it. Put a soaker hose on another that isn't looking very good.

[WDH]

Within 100 yards of my house, I have about 15 red oaks that have died in the last 3 weeks.  I have never seen anything like this.  There are a couple of scarlet oaks, but they are predominately southern red oaks.  The built up stress of the last few years has done them in.

[Woodwalker]

My job sometimes requires me to do a good bit of driving and today headed back to the office the last leg was a little over an hour down the interstate. I counted 140+ dead oaks on the east side of the road. Guessing, there are about  2 or 3  dead pines for each oak. We need some rain.

[Rocky_Ranger]

I've had some time to do a little tinkering with volumes from our Wallow fire and have come up with about 2.5 billion board feet of timber lost.  That may be low - that is all lands though; so too steep, too dry, too many T & E species, etc.  Met with Sec of Ag Wednesday and showed him some of the lost homes, burned trees, etc.  First load of salvage leaves today and the fire is still not 100% contained.  Hundreds of miles of allotment fences lost, thousands of miles of roads affected by snags and rolling rocks, 1600 miles of streams, it's just hard to get a handle on how big this thing is.  The fire perimeter is about 400 miles........