Smokehouse Creek wildfire just a preview
Flame and wind. Apart, they can wreck devastation. Together, the devastation can be of biblical proportions as wind pushes flame for acres in its scorchedearth sprints.
There is no perfection in destruction and death, yet the phrase “a perfect storm” has become a metaphor for the converging events and causes that can lead to tragedy.
The perfect storm of flame, high temperatures, low humidity and strong wind converged on Smokehouse Creek in the Texas Panhandle on Feb. 26, igniting the the biggest wildfire in the state’s history and one of the biggest in U.S. history.
Several wildfires were running concurrently in that region — one was reported 100% contained Monday — but Smokehouse Creek remains the headliner. On Monday morning, 87% of the Smokehouse Creek fire had been contained.
This time of year, a wildfire in Texas isn’t unusual. According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, of the 30 largest wildfires in Texas history, 90% occurred between January and May. But it’s the speed of the spread in Smokehouse Creek that was remarkable, its ferocity in overtaking living and inanimate objects that is terrifying. It’s the intensity of the scenes from Smokehouse Creek and the width and breadth of damage that is uncommon.
The statistics are startling. Millions of acres burned; thousands of cattle killed; hundreds of structures destroyed; two women killed. One was in her home and the other was trying to exit her truck.
Truly harrowing are the images of orange infernos, black plumes of smoke, charred landscapes, smoking shells of what were houses and cars, and, among the most heartbreaking, the burned carcasses of animals chased down by the fast-moving flames.
The fear and the scale of suffering of animals, including cattle not used to running for their lives, are difficult to comprehend.
“Just my prediction, but it will be 10,000 that will have died, or we’ll have to euthanize,” Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller told the New York
Times. “It’s sad. A lot of those cattle are still alive, but the hooves are burned off, the teats on their udders are burned off. It’s just a sad, sad situation.”
On Feb. 27, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 Texas counties in response to the fire. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has guaranteed Texas and Oklahoma will be reimbursed for emergency costs. California Gov. Gavin Newsom dispatched National Guard members and a firefighting aircraft to help.
The Forest Service said its investigators concluded that the Smokehouse Creek fire was ignited by power lines.
Xcel Energy, a utility provider, said Thursday that its equipment appeared to have played a role in igniting the Smokehouse Creek fire, though it did not believe its equipment was responsible for the nearby Windy Deuce fire.
The economic devastation that will result from the fire can’t begin to be estimated. Ranchers and farmers in its path have lost everything.
Although cooler temperatures and reduced wind are helping in the fight against active wildfires, there will remain an “underlying risk” for new conflagration in the Texas Panhandle and South Texas until spring gifts those regions with an abundance of green vegetation.
Despite recent progress, we shouldn’t expect wildfires in Texas or elsewhere to lessen any more than we should expect to see cooler summers. As the climate changes and weather conditions become more extreme, we will see more wildfires across the state.
In the ruins left by the Smokehouse Creek fire and through the acrid smoke, Texas lawmakers get a glimpse of our future. When the fires arrive again, they will bring more destruction to the ecosystem, and the loss of human life, cattle, crop, land, ranches, farms and homes will grow. Not to mention escalating insurance costs.
What will lawmakers do to prepare?
As the climate shifts, the fear and suffering will grow