We had a fire near my farm that was almost an entire mile section, with flames twenty feet high.



...and multiple lines of fire. Way, WAY out of control. Counted 150 vehicles on the surrounding roads with dozens of fire trucks, sheriff, etc. It went on for an hour and I finally had to leave.

So Bruce did they get it under control? How close did it get to your property? Fires are scary when its heading for your place.

It was a little less than two miles from myu place. Luckily there was very little wind. I had to eventually leave, but I think I'm OK.

Good to hear Bruce. Do they know how it started?

My understanding is that it started out as a "controlled" burn.

That is the main reason I burn 1/3 of my property every year per missouri conservation guidelines. It eliminates excess fuel and keeps the wildflowers flourishing. Plus very few ticks in my forested areas.

Glad it didn't get ya Bruce! I bet that area will look incredible in 3-4 weeks too.

Controlled burns are great for the wildlife when they stay controlled... Now we know why the pick low wind days to do controlled burns!

I badly need to burn off my place. However, I'm not at all sure it would stay "controlled". I'm not real good at that kind of stuff.

Many times if you contact your local FD, they will do it for you for little to no fee...

Dang I hope your place is okay Bruce, keep us posted.

It's a sickening feeling watching fire march toward your home. I've had way too much experience with that in my lifetime.

Me too.I hope everything works out OK.My next door neighbor has almost burned down my house 4 times in the last 5 years with his "controlled" burns.As we speak Im trying to design a fire suppression system with a water pump from the pond for emergencys.

Seems like it would be a lot easier to just shoot your neighbor Tom.

It's legal to shoot at neighbors in Texas isn't it?

Went to a friend's house 1 day, and his neighbor had a "controlled burn" of some winter wheat stubble. Well, the wind came up really high, and it made the most goshawful fire I've seen in my life. 15-20 acres of wheat stubble burned in about 15 minutes. It was burning so violently it made an unearthly humming/vibrating/screeching sound. If there would have been any buildings near that field, they would have simply disappeared.

Bruce:

Hope your place comes out O.K. They aren't using your ponds for water supply, are they? I can just see the helicopter dipping the bucket in the pond and carting off the fish along with the water.

I burned about 20 acres 3 weeks ago. It got a tad bit scarey, but all was well in the end. A neighbor who manages a ton of grass acreage in the area came by to check on things, and he said "every time I burn I wish I'd left that match in my pocket."

Bruce is everything ok - prayers?

I only have 3 words to reply to that...
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DONT TEMPT ME

We are under an almost contiunous burn ban.

I'm fine guys! Thanks for the concern!

awesome pics bruce. as you know we've had our brushes w/ wildland fire around here, its pretty scary. glad the conderosa is OK.

Glad to hear you're O.K. Bruce.

On the way back from Florida today i saw some massive fires down below from 30,000 feet. Not sure where it was but I'm thinking Georgia?

Farmers burn off weeds every year here in my area and some get of control. The volunteer fire department comes out to put them out but at least now they charge these guys to put the fires out. I have no problem with "controlled burns," but for God's sake don't do it on windy days!

There are fires all over the world today! One in Ft. Worth, various spots in North Texas, as well as Southern Oklahoma, Some in Oklahoma City Area, and multiple fires around the Stillwater/Perry area. Over 50 houses, and a coulple high schools have already been claimed by the fires. I also know of 7+ small towns that have been evacuated. Where I live there are no fires but wind gusts of 60+ and fire around in all directions. I find it very interesting that so many started on the same day.

Bruce, gald all is Ok your way.

I went to my place yesterday. When I got there, I smelled smoke so tuned to the local radio statio. Lots of fires going in the 50 mph wind. When I left last night, the closest one had come about 4 miles from my place. A lot of small towns were evacuated. The wind had pretty well died down but is back this morning.

A door had been blown off of an old barn so I will have to go do something about that. No sense in messing with it today since we again have 30 or 40 mph winds.

Dave,I was thinking about you while watching the news this morning.Glad everything is OK.

I wasn't so lucky.... all 257 acres of my place in North Texas, in Jack county burned yesterday. Just got back from checking on the place... My cabin and barn survived without a scratch, but all of the woods / pasture burned.

The good news is that all of the underbrush is now gone.... if my oak trees will come back, it will be a blessing in disguise. If not, it might as well be a total loss.

Here's some pics of the devastation.... I don't know how many acres total have been burned, but it has to be in the thousands. Two out of 5 houses near me are now gone... the other 3, including my two cabins, did not get a scratch. Unbelievable.


The new cabin is in good shape.




A look up the ranch road... power is down and will likely be out for a while..


The old pop-up camper did not have a good day....


My 16 foot trailer for the tractor also did not have a good day...


My hay field.


And last, but not least, my big pond...


I'm still in shock.... not sure what, if anything, can be done.

I'm really sorry to hear that, GT!

If it rains do you expect a massive ash runoff?

Gary - You're lucky your cabin was still surrounded by dirt instead of grass. That surely saved it. It doesn't look like your trees were burned too badly. They should be fine, though you may end up with a "fire ring" in the wood grain if you intend to ever harvest any for lumber. Fires like that can actually be very beneficial to your trees. Your hay field will be a lush green and thick in 3 weeks I bet.

outahere

Unbelievable.....

And this too shall pass. Glad no one was hurt and the house is ok. On a positive note the hay field should benefit from the potash in the burn. The trailer looks ok for rehab but the camper may be fish structure.

Thanks, guys.

I'm really hoping that the oak trees will survive this... if they do, I know that getting rid of all the underbrush is a good thing.

Weissguy... I've never been through anything like this... is there anyway to tell if the trees were burned too much? I had been thinking that I needed a controlled burn..... mother nature decided otherwise.

Bruce, If we get a big rain, it will certainly wash a ton of ash into the pond. I don't know that there is anything I can do to stop it. We are supposed to get rain on Sunday.... I'm hoping for an all day soaker to put out the hotspots and get some moisture into the ground. If I can get some ground cover established before a serious runoff.... just maybe the pond will survive.

I'm trying to be positive.... with the high winds, the fire went through fast, so maybe it was like a controlled burn?? I'm hoping so....

Gary, sorry to hear about your loss.
TV just reported more than 100,000 acres burned in N.Texas so far.
Three deaths in Montague County (Bowie) – Hope Dave D. OK today.
Supposed to rain tomorrow.

Gary, post oak does not have much of a tolerance for fire. Most of yours is probably post oak. It does sprout well after fire. Contact the Texas Forest Service: http://txforestservice.tamu.edu/main/default.aspx?dept=landowner . They should be able to help you. Hope everyone else escaped the fires.

Wow Gary, I am so glad your cabin pulled through but sorry to hear about the trailer and camper. I think your trees will be OK. The burn doesn't look like it got too overly hot from the pictures. You'll be amazed at how well the forest and your field will come back... Only time will tell if the oaks and other trees will pull through, but I think they will. Do you know what species you have on your property?

CJBS: I'm really hoping you are right. I'm not a tree expert, but the Texas Parks & Wildlife site says that my area of Texas is predominantly post oak and blackjack oak trees. I do know that I don't have many live oak trees, as almost all of my oaks lose their leaves in winter.

So, in the vein of keeping a positive attitude....

My Texas Hunter fish feeder survived, and is still feeding the fish...


And here is the remains of the deer stand where I stored all of my fishing tackle...


But that only means that I get to get NEW fishing gear... all is not lost.

Just found this info on the star telegram site.... Lots of big fires in the North Texas area, but the one that got me is one of the biggest....

The "Cement Mountain fire," 28,000 acres straddling Young and Jack Counties and stretching 18 miles, destroyed nine homes, 46 out buildings and forced the evacuation of 100 homes.

Gary, my entire place burned about 15 years ago. Like yours, the wind was moving along at 40 to 50 mph. Mine looked like yours. It usually burns through fast enough that the oaks don't get hurt. Mine hit in the winter and in the Spring, my place never looked better. It may be a year but I figure you will be OK.

If you had cedars, they seldom stand a fire.

Thank you, Dave!!!

That kind of first hand experience gives me hope... I can easily wait a year.... waiting 15 or 20 for a recovery would be tough. I've put my heart and soul into this place for the past 10 years... I really need to believe that it will recover.

I had alot of cedars.... they can stay gone, as far as I'm concerned.

Well Gary, if it makes you feel any better, post oak and blackjack oak are probably the two most fire tolerant species of oak there are!

Post Oak
Blackjack Oak

The subspecies of blackjack oak, Quercus marilandica Münchhausen grows in your area of Texas. In this area, Blackjack, along with Post oak, forms a semi-savanna area composed of forested strips intermixed with prairie grass glades along the eastern edge of the southern Great Plains. This semi-savanna is known as the Cross Timbers. The acorns of both species provide food for both whitetail deer and wild turkey. The area know as Cross Timbers is naturally fire prone and both oak species are well adapted to brush fires. I think your oaks will be fine! Glad to see the fish feeder survived the fires as well... Keep us updated with photos, I think we will all be amazed at how quickly the forest regenerates. The deer, turkey and particularly quail will be loving it!

Gary:

The first thing that I said was "On S...", but looking at the pics closer it doesn't look like the fire was hot for a long time, so hopefully the trees will do fine. I see contractors here put up a perforated black plastic 18" tall silt fence so excess runoff doesn't make it to the creeks. I wonder if that might help your pond? I don't know how much it costs, but it doesn't look too labor intensive to erect.

Glad the cabin made it thru. The trailer sure needs a sandblasting and painting now! Hope it doesn't rain too hard this weekend.

Crikeys Gary...that is just awful. I just can't fathom the thought of that level of burn. So sorry, man.

Gary, when this stuff happened Thursday I was at my place listening to the Bowie radio station and watching the skies for smoke. While quenching my thirst, I started thinking about my insurance and the policy limits.

I'll be calling and updating those things next week. I believe it costs about 4% of the insured value.

I'm sorry for the loss, Gary, but I agree with everyone that it should all come back green very quickly. Other than the fish feeder surviving, do you notice any other effects of the fire on the pond?

Gary,sorry to see the damage,but glad it wasnt any worse.Have you thought about discing around the pond to catch the ash before it gets in the pond?Just a thought there,if its feasable.

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. It helps.

Dave,

I'm very curious about the insurance coverage you are talking about.... My insurance covers the structures and such, but I was told when I got my policy that "no one insure raw land from fire"....

Can you give more specifics on who you are insured with??

Thanks, GaryTexas

So, so sorry. Fire is the worst thing, we had a fire in our building (machine shop) right after we bought it, first experience with fire, it got put out pretty quick, but it was so fast and so scary. I hope that you can protect your pond.

If it's just a light charring of the bark, they will be totally fine. If it burned behind the bark layer, you could lose some. It looks like to me they just got a little bark burn, and should be perfectly fine. You'll know for sure within a month or so.

The upside to this is that you burned a lot of the fuel off of your property should another wildfire threaten within the next several years. It is always a good idea to keep your trees free of a lot of underbrush and what not. Often a "controlled burn" will stop in it's tracks when it hits a well maintained tree or fence row because it actually runs out of quick burning fuel.

Your fields will look great this summer, and you'll have likely burned off any of those volunteer field cedars and other brushy invaders.

You might want to consider a rock garden around your cabin. Half joking, but that lack of grass around the structure saved it without a doubt.

Man, that has to be tough to swallow. I totally agree with above comments, the fields and forests will be lush with flora this summer. The strong trees will survive and flourish. Tom G. has a good idea with the discing parallel with pond. I dont think the potash will cause any problem. The wildlife will appreciate the thinning out. Show us pics in a few months. Good luck.

Gary, I was talking about my structure and equipment.

However, I have Farm Bureau Insurance and couldn't be more satisfied. When I've had thefts and/or damage, they haven't quibbled.

Well, I went back out this weekend to walk the place and do a further damage assessment.... only time will tell how many of the trees will come back.

Amazingly, I'm seeing rabbits, turkeys, armadillos.... so there is some life left out there.

More amazingly, one of the game cameras which I thought was burned up (it was melted on the outside)... the memory card was still good. It caught some amazing photos of the fire as it came through... truly an awesome sight. Here they are in sequence... note the time stamps on how quickly this happened.

Gary,

Those are some amazing pictures.

that is incredible "footage" gary. thank you for sharing that. and if i didnt say so before, sorry about yer ranch, thoughts and prayers comin from el dorado. i've seen close up what wild land fires can do. mother nature will now heal.

WOW!!!!!

That one from 18:12:57 is like an image from Mars! Impressive!!!!

That sequence is amazing wrt what is shows about wildfire AND wild turkeys!

I bet if you send those photos to Scoutguard and let them use them and your story for advertisement, they'll send you a new game cam for free.

Amazing pictures...it just goes to show how quickly fires can spread and how adaptive wildlife can be.

Last Sunday we drove from Sunset to Stoneburg and over to Montague. The amount of acreage burnt is amazing. However, 50 mph winds can do a lot of damage and carry a lot embers. Lots of burnt structures and trees. The Firefighters often let the brush burn and try to save structures. They stopped one fire about 3 or 4 miles South of me. Another 10 miles to the West of me.

Firemen from a lot of cities sent trucks and crews; some from over 100 miles away.

Gary, exactly where is your place? Did the rain wash any ashes and junk into your pond?

Those are some amazing pictures... Turkeys are incredible... Back to eating from the feeder like nothing ever happened. Goes to show you just how adapted they are to fire in their native habitat.

Amazing sequence of photos. Thanks for posting that. From 17:51:54 where their are signs of smoke but no fire, to 17:55:49 where the area is fully engulfed in flame. Amazing how fast fire moves.



+1 the camera company would probably LOVE this sequence of photos.

That and the local forestry department (fire department), fire safety council, etc, etc.

Gary,
I was reading a post on another site from a forester and firefighter who works for the Texas Forest Service and lives in Montague county. He cut down a couple of trees and it looks like most will not make it. If you have white ash on the ground then the fire got really hot. His trees showed burn evidence 3" into the live tree, well past the outer live section of the trees.

Jeffreythree..

I'm sure that the fire was very hot.... no doubt about that. From the pictures, I think the main burn was only about 30 minutes long, but incredibly hot.

I walked the entire place on Sunday... some areas are worse than others. I would guess that maybe 1% of the oak trees lost their bark, and have bare trunk showing. I'm sure those trees are going to die.

I did spot checks on the bark on alot of trees using a pocket knife.... maybe I'm just doing some wishful thinking, but the burn really looks like a surface burn, and does not go all the way through the bark. The twigs still bend... they are not dry and crispy... you have to twist them to get them to break off the tree. Only time will tell. I'll post pictures as the months go by on how the recovery is going.

David,

As far as the pond.... I've had two rains in the past week, for a combined total of about 3 inches. I don't think that I got any runoff into the pond. Water clarity still seems pretty good, and the fish are still feeding. I have noticed more FA on the pond this weekend.... last weekend there was none. I'm not sure if that could be a symptom of the fire or not.

Here's a pic of the FA....



Here's some typical tree trunks.... Hopefully the fire did not go past the bark...

Here is the post on the other site: http://arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=96226 . 3rd pic down shows the tree I was talking about. Bark looks fine on the outside, but you can see the burn ring inside the log.

It will definitely be interesting how the trees pull through. The post and blackjack oaks are very fire tolerant. If any species can pull through, it would be them...