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Texans understand fires.
Our settlers made their encampments and later their homes around them. Our earliest families came in from the hunt and brought their kill for searing over an open fire. Fire kept us alive for generations and provided our sustenance and protection from the cold. Fire helped us build our county and state. Yet, fire cannot go unchecked. It is also destructive.
Nothing thrilled me more at ten when riding across the Colorado County prairie near Eagle Lake than to see the sun rising from the east, and the distant smoke curling upward into the sky on the west. There was a fire in the distance. It was cattle branding day.
The smoke was black and thick. The dew soaked wood unleashed its dampness into the sky around the fire. As the fire grew denser, the heavy branding irons became red with heat, reflecting the flames. I had great respect for the power of that small fire.
The unsuspecting cattle bellowed as they were driven to the cattle pens and chutes for their branding. Marks left on them supported the cattle owners and industry. Cowboys and ranchers for generations, whether building fires to cook on the range or to clear forests for roundups have depended upon fires for their livelihood and survival. They have known of the power and danger of fire, and have generally planned carefully.
Recently, Texas experienced the largest wildfire in its history in the Texas Panhandle called the Smokehouse Creek Fire. Over a million acres burned, taking three weeks to contain. Thousands of cattle died in the fire. Homes, businesses, and schools were lost. Grasslands and grazing fields were lost.
The culprit was apparently downed power lines, a cause of multiple Texas wildfires. The Texas A&M Forest Service has indicated, however, that more than 90 percent of all wildfires in Texas is due to people and their activities, including debris burning, not respecting burn bans, campfires and firepits, and general carelessness.
Having watched the rapid and unpredictable spreading of Texas’ largest wildfire in history just contained, let us remember to be vigilant, avoid dangers, be custodians of any fire activity, and educate one another, our friends, and our children.
Over a million acres and loss of lives and livestock is a serious reminder that the stewardship and protection of our vast Texas lands depends upon us, as it did upon our pioneer families. Let’s keep Texas and Colorado County beautiful and safe, together.
