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

If you want to see how fast it moved, here is game-cam video footage...If someone can figure out how to imbed it......it's freaking wicked.

https://www.instagram.com/themendotaranch/reel/C38IwBGuX9k/

Here is a reliable link for various types of donations:

https://agrilifetoday.tamu.edu/2024...upport-texas-panhandle-wildfire-victims/

I think Yarnell was a State fire.




https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B36DIycSgbzWSUtjNkl1Z2ROT0k/view

This is correct. Granite Mountain was/is the only State/FD funded Hotshot crew in the nation. The rest are FS, BLKM and BIA. Utah DOC used to have the "Flame 'N Go's" but I don't believe they do any more.

I retired about 18 months ago but I have worked with TFS many times over the last 32 years. They were great to work with and had good people. Several things come into play here: Texas needs to request the help of Federal fire fighters and aircraft, most of which are 2 days or more away and this is considered the "off season" for the Westerns folks so most are taking critical training right now. Aircraft are in maintenance or being inspected this time of the year. Once the winds hit 25-30 MPH, even aircraft aren't effective. Many times I have watched things burn and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. One memorable fire similar to Texas but in timber, I lost 93 homes in a single day. I put 136 people into the woods that morning and they all came out that night so I considered it a win.

Thanks for the links

My oldest son after fighting the Smokehouse Creek fire in sub-freezing temps, covered in ash and ice.

I know they have to be bone tired!

Every one of them are heroes!

Since I am unfamiliar with the terrain, this may be a stupid question but how come they are not plowing firebreaks? Is it to rough of country?

my guesses:

fire moving too fast, would need a firebreak wider than you could build in time (or get permission)

grass fire in 20 mph wind probably throw a spot fire half a mile or more.

fire fighters could say better

My heart goes out to all the people affected by this disaster and the firefighters for their sacrifice.

Horrible situation.

I just called a lady and got my 16 year old daughter signed up for the Orphaned Calf Disaster Relief Operation. It is a program that takes orphaned calves and raises them for the ranchers until until they can be returned home at a later date. We just got done with stock show season so we have open pens at our barn. My daughter has worked for some lamb and goat breeders for several years, has delivered babies, raised them on bottles, doctored them, everything. We have taken care of quite a few of both goat babies and calves here at our barn so this is right up her alley. My daughters heart is huge when it comes to these little babies and she will fight for their lives with a vengeance. I have seen her sleep in the pen with one all night before to save its life.

I guess now we just wait on a call. The lady said ranchers are just now starting to get out and about on the properties. She expects within the next day or two she will start getting calls with needs and will give us a call.

She is managing the part on getting the calves to caretakers. Donations for supplies are going through the Beaver County Stockyards in Beaver OK. That number is 1-580-625-3051.

Here's one of what I'm sure will be heart breaking images from the fire. One account was neighbors responding to an area where they could get back in. They encountered a despondent man who had lost everything on his ranch, sitting alone in his pickup. He asked if they had a gun, his was lost in the fire. They answered yes. He asked if they could go shoot his horses.....

Just talked to one of our members up there and they got some snow so hopefully this will end now

God bless your son sir and the rest of his Amigos. If you’ve never operated a fire hose, you can’t imagine the Azz kicking it is never mind the smoke and ice.

Rooster7- With winds speeds like what we are talking about the flames create tornado like vortexes that lift embers hundreds of feet in the air, and carry them forward hundreds of yards, sometimes even a 1/4 mile or more, starting new fires. In essence the fire is leap-froggin itself. The fire can jump very large gaps in this manner. A good example would be just south of town here on Monday, the day the fires were starting. Smaller fire, but they attempted to stop it when it crossed the highway. 4 lane divided highway with wide right of ways and center median. They plowed and/or ran a maintainer on both right of ways plus the center median (plus 4 lanes), and the fire still managed to jump the road at one point. And that was a smaller fire the day before the worst of the winds.

They try, and it helps. Sometimes it works. You have to pick your battles. Much of the country is too rough for it. The real answer is that most places you can't cut one long enough, wide enough, fast enough to catch it before it burns across.

Damn that is awful. God help you folks.

That makes sense. Thanks JT.

That fire is still only 5% contained this morning.

Over 1.25 million acres burned total.