Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Smokehouse Creek Fire - Texas Panhandle

Is a lot of that in CRP?

The wind should change direction today. It will start blowing more from the east sometime today and then turn to come from the south around 6 PM this evening. I sure hope that helps get this thing put out.

Yesterday was 90 degrees, this morning was 20 degrees, sky is blue here, 12 miles from Texas line, little fire department’s got back to barns between midnight and two AM, those boys been fighting fires for two days, Monday was around Wheeler, Tx, , I just finished feeding and a black wall of smoke west towards Canadian, hadn’t heard about people or stock yet. Pray for rain that’s coming.

Yep. It’s still a long ways from me, but with the 40 to 50 mph north winds this AM, you can get a whiff of the smoke now. 😬

FOX News reported today that:
“ Operations at a nuclear weapons facility outside of Amarillo were halted after flames got dangerously close to the property. Late Tuesday, Pantex said all the facility's employees were accounted for, and firefighters were in structure protection mode, but the property remains secure.”
“And that at least 570,000 acres have now been consumed by the 5 different wildlife’s that are going on at the same time in the TX panhandle region.”

Dang! Hate to hear that! Always enjoyed stopping at the great little Steakhouse in Canadian, when passing through there. Prayers sent!

We are 50-70 miles south of the Canadian/Wheeler fires. Both of my boys were out on mutual aid last night fighting the fire SE of Canadian (Near Allison). They were on that fire from about 10 pm until 4 am. Departments taking shifts, helping each other out.

The wind had been west for 2 days. Folks talk like this is one fire, it is not. It is a dozen (at least) different fires, spread in an east/west line 100 miles long. When the wind shifted to the north, it started pushing that east/west line to the south. At this point over 500,000 acres burned. That is nearly 800 square miles for the folks who think of area in that way. Parts of several towns burned. Dumas, Fritch, Canadian that I know of, maybe others. Lots of farm and ranch house, barns, and so on burned out in the country. I think "dozens" of buildings destroyed is very much on the low side. I have been around here a long time, seen lots of bad fire seasons. This one may be the worst I have seen. At least as bad as 2006. I guess we will know in a few days. I don't know how to even attempt to estimate the number of livestock lost, but it is probably in the tens of thousands of head.

Last night when the wind shifted south the smoke was so thick here it was like fog, 60 miles away. Ash and dead cinders were falling out of the air like in the volcano movies. The highway was a solid stream of cars and pickups headed south, evacuating. Many pulling trailers with horses and whatever livestock they could load. Several places here in town with evacuees, our activity center had about 75 folks in in it. They say 30 miles south of us at Childress the parking lots of Wal-Mart and all the grocery stores were packed. Here in town the line at every gas pump was 8-10 vehicles deep.

Angus, anything we can do you let me know. If I don't have the resources myself I can find who does, pretty easy. Hay. stock trailers, whatever. Know a guy with semis and horses who will come load and haul.

Last 2 days wind has been to bad to fly and have air support. Today the wind is way down and I have heard at least some is on the way. Wind is down, temps are down, and humidity is up. That should really help to start getting a handle on things. Maybe some rain in the morning. Pray for that. A lot.

Lots of resources being funneled up here.

As far as Pantex goes, anything of importance is deep underground. Just infrastructure on top. And no doubt they have backup to the backups on power. The area may be down but I seriously doubt they are.

Thanks JTP, my cattle are fine, small world, I hunt over around Allison, I have dual lifetime licenses, was not going to leave the greatest hunt state in country after 40 years, 😁 and move to ranch, small world, like I said these young fire chasers are my heroes. Boys are headed this way, as I’m headed to OKC for open heart at daylight in morning, y’all be safe!!!

Size has grown in total acres to 650,000 acres now.

Damn.

More prayers for your heart procedure as well.

Please update us when you can.

GregW: Prayers indeed - that no Texans will be harmed/kill't in this amazing outbreak.
Come on rain!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Good luck with your surgery. Glad you are not burned out. You'd probably know the place I hunt up there if you've been there a while.

Raider, family been here 140 years 🤠, I may know where, knew you hunted up here somewhere, thanks

Inciweb just updated, 850,000 acres now. You local guys hang in there...

The same from here. Hoping all the best possible outcome for you folks.

Holy Schidt!

That fire is hauling ass!

Prayers everyone stays safe.

With the amount of cattle country its burning and how fast its moving, I suspect livestock losses will be astronomical.

Awful

Nothing harder to look at then burned livestock, maybe only stock trailer turned over with horses, stays with ya awhile , horrible

Stay safe Texans and Okies. Wind driven fire is no joke.