'God smiled on us'- (TX) Fire spares homes in its raging path

Land between Borger and Skellytown was changed into a desertscape Wednesday by high winds blowing ash and dust, but Blake Moore was still grateful. "I can't say anything but that God smiled on us," Moore said in his home, which was surrounded by charred land and was without electricity. "It's not like a town, my neighbor's three quarters of a mile away, but it is a community, and there's no replacement for good neighbors."

"Those flames came out of the canyon, they were 20 feet tall. It took a minute or 45 seconds to get here," he said. "As it was coming, my wife was in charge of packing. It's a good thing because I couldn't think of anything but spraying water."

As family members helped Moore hose down the house and yard and his wife, Tonya, get photos, keepsakes and clothes into four vehicles, the fire arrived.

The caravan went away from the flames and then circled back, driving through the fire that had passed their home to make sure the structure didn't burn. While some rural residents are doing without electricity, and as a result without water from their wells, others used generators to get by.

Xcel Energy crews continued to replace burned utility poles even in the dust and ash storm that turned the area dark Wednesday.

"There were telephone poles burning out here this morning. Nobody put them out because there was nothing else left to burn," Blake Moore said.

More than grass fell to the flames. Ranchers lost cattle, possibly as many as 10,000, and wildlife also suffered.

"Even if they didn't lose their homes, they did lose their livelihoods," said Cindy Nickell, Borger branch operations director for the Eastern Texas Panhandle Chapter of the Red Cross. "Particularly in Wheeler County because wildlife is part of their livelihood. They lease out hunting rights and now there's nothing for the wildlife to eat."

Jackie Bass, whose husband owns Shamrock Livestock Commission, said ranchers started bringing in cattle to sell on Wednesday because they had no grazing or hay to feed them.

"We have a bunch of cows and pairs in today because of the fires. A bunch of people also called and said if they can get the cattle gathered, they will be in next week."

Jana Gregory, chief executive officer of the chapter, was not immune from the damage.

"My home was threatened today by fire and we were without power from Sunday afternoon to last night," she said Wednesday. "It was nice to have a hot shower."

While the public and other entities have been generous with donations, the Red Cross has not had many people asking for assistance. Caseworkers are assessing needs in the area.

While the Moores are staying in a Borger motel until their home has electricity and heat, women were cleaning the house Wednesday and workers cleaned air ducts and replaced doors.

"I've been shell shocked for three days. It wasn't an easy fight, but we got it done, and we had a lot of help and I'm proud of them all," Blake Moore said.

More on the fires .....

11 die in fires in Panhandle
Thousands of acres of Texas ranchland destroyed, and burning continues

McLEAN, TEXAS -- When a wildfire rolled through this part of the Panhandle on Sunday, most of the Seven Cross cattle ranch went with it.
Eleven thousand acres of grazing land is now charred dirt dotted with blackened shrubs and the bloated corpses of at least 100 cows that died while trying to escape the flames.

Surveying his property, ranch owner L.H. Webb could do little more than square his shoulders and vow to somehow rebuild.

This ranch has been in the family for 100 years, Webb said, and he's not about to give up now: "It's a shock, there's so much loss in one fell swoop. The fire came through so fast, it may not have all sunk in yet."

In Roberts County, northeast of Amarillo, the bodies of four men found Monday were identified as oil field workers who apparently drove off a gravel road while trying to outrun the fire and got stuck in a ravine.

Eleven people have died since the fires ignited Sunday.

All across the Texas Panhandle, stunned residents are trying to come to terms with devastation of historic proportions.

Wildfires have consumed more than 840,000 acres of land, and three major fires, each about 50 percent contained, continue to burn in parts of eight counties.

In the 24 hours starting midday Monday, the state responded to more than 200 fires covering 191,000 acres.

Yesterday, a 2-mile-long fire sprang up near the town of McLean, west of Amarillo, sending tall stacks of smoke into the air. Planes loaded with tanks of fire retardant were sent to the area to put it out.

High winds that fanned the flames Sunday were relatively calm yesterday but south winds with gusts of up to 45 mph are expected today.

"There's the potential for a bad day," Texas Forest Service spokesman Warren Bielenberg said.

For Webb, any uptick in wind speed is irrelevant: "There's not much left to burn here."

On Sunday, as others fled the area, Webb stayed behind to save his house with the help of the local fire department.

As immense wheels of fire rolled in from two directions, Webb hurried to the cattle pens to let the animals out. About two-thirds of his black Angus and Hereford cows survived the flames, some losing all of their hair or parts of their ears, tail or hooves.

Webb's foreman shot about 50 cows - badly maimed by the fire but still breathing - to put them out of their misery.

Everywhere in the region is the heavy smell of smoke. Turn down almost any country road and fields of black, charred earth appear and seem to go on for miles.

Telephone poles smolder days after a fire tears through, as do dirt roads and ravines. The grasslands of the Panhandle now look like a vast, scorched desert.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.