Further information on the fires of Texas.
Right now, the Eagle Nest is not in any immediate danger. However, many friends and relatives have been in danger and quite a few evacuated. Our largely volunteer fire fighters have gone above and beyond to save homes and keep the fire contained or at least in "safer directions" in this area.
We are super dry here - in an area known for it's high humidity - the air feels more like a desert than a sauna this summer. Temps have sored daily past the 100 mark. Plus a drought.
Our trees are at least half pine - and when the sparks hit them, they go up like torches. Leaves have dried and fallen off of trees for the last several weeks ... so the woods are thick with the dried leaves and dried undergrowth. Ranches are clear ... but without rain, the tall grasses of spring, have dried out into a hay that burns fast, this area doesn't do a lot of "preventative burning" so some of the spots have dried grass growth for several years, which create a hot spot as the fires go underground to smolder and then pop up again hours or days later.
Couple that with the fact that these are rural fires ... and our fire departments are mostly small and volunteer based. Many don't get paid. Equipment is older in many areas .... so these fires are not so easy to fight and fight fast. So the job that is being done to contain them is nothing short of a miracle.
Smoke can be seen and smelt for miles. In some place, ashes are raining from the sky. Our earliest expected rain is still 4 or 5 days away and maybe longer than that. Winds are the biggest concern ... especially in the afternoons as the rising temps cause the wind to increase. Pray for rain. Pray for the winds to stop blowing the fires. Pray for strength and resources for the fire fighters to do their jobs.
And especially pray for those who have lost their homes or parts of their land have burned - it's hard to feed cows and horses on burned land. You can't harvest burned hay. A tiny blessing may be that the bug population will be less next year ... but that isn't much consolation when you drive by acres and acres of burned stumps on land that was full of trees mere days ago.
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