Category Archives: Wildfire

April 17, 2011 · 6:35 am

Red flag flying with good horse Star 17 APR 11

This Sunday is another day of remaining alert for smoke in west and central Texas. Fire Weather Warnings have been issued. Red flags are flying.

Before we focus at noon until late evening on possible wildfires, errands are run and Star, our paint gelding is fed.

Star is out of isolation for rabies since Friday. Now, after two weeks of isolation, he can once again nuzzle his horse neighbors next door and set his huge neck upon my shoulder. Here is a photo of Star taken last week.

Star Bars Moore APHA 808164, loafing in arena pasture under mesquites.

So that is some of the good news here on Flying Hat Ranch or “Ranchito” as Donald Worcester, a deceased friend of mine, used to call his 142 acres near Fort Worth.

Unfortunately, later today we have to work with the following forecast from the National Weather Service:

URGENT – FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE…UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 436 AM CDT SUN APR 17 2011 TXZ091-092-100gt;103-115gt;119-129gt;134-141gt;147-156gt;162-174-175-171800- /O.CON.KFWD.FW.W.0014.110417T1700Z-110418T0100Z/ MONTAGUE-COOKE-YOUNG-JACK-WISE-DENTON-STEPHENS-PALO PINTO-PARKER- TARRANT-DALLAS-EASTLAND-ERATH-HOOD-SOMERVELL-JOHNSON-ELLIS- COMANCHE-MILLS-HAMILTON-BOSQUE-HILL-NAVARRO-FREESTONE-LAMPASAS- CORYELL-BELL-MCLENNAN-FALLS-LIMESTONE-LEON-MILAM-ROBERTSON- 436 AM CDT SUN APR 17 2011 …RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING… A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO DEEPEN ACROSS THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES LATER TODAY RESULTING IN GUSTY SOUTHERLY WINDS. SOUTHERLY WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED ALONG WITH HUMIDITY VALUES AROUND 20 PERCENT. THE COMBINATION OF GUSTY WINDS…LOW HUMIDITY…AND DRY FUELS WILL LEAD TO DANGEROUS FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THROUGH EARLY EVENING. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT EXTREME FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW…OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS…LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AND DRY VEGETATION WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL. AVOID ALL OUTSIDE BURNING AND WELDING TODAY. DO NOT TOSS LIT CIGARETTE BUTTS OUTSIDE. REPORT WILD FIRES TO THE NEAREST FIRE DEPARTMENT OR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICE.

I obtain this weather warning when I click on our weather service and a red banner streaks alarmingly across the top of the page. Catches your attention real fast! There’s a red flag flying today with our good horse, Star. All will be well and if not, we’ll manage with help of a Star.

6 Comments

Filed under Flying Hat Ranch, Star, Wildfire

Tagged as apha, National Weather Service, paint horse, Possum Kingdom Lake, Red Flag warning, tobiano

April 16, 2011 · 12:48 pm

Hot spots and Possum Kingdom Lake wildfire 16 APR 11

US Highway 180, south of Possum Kingdom Lake

I went out this morning to view and photograph the Possum Kingdom Lake wildfire event. I was not able to see Possum Kingdom Lake because I do not have press credentials and State Highway 16 was blocked at the intersection of US 180.

Today the winds are calm, but tomorrow afternoon a Red Flag warning has been issued for west-central Texas. I drove the F-250 from our ranch north of I-20 on SH 919 to Gordon, cut west along the Schoolhouse Road north of Gordon to St. Boniface Catholic Church on Dodson Prairie. The elk behind the high field fence on the Guest Ranch appeared unharmed. After driving by St. Boniface, I turned north on SH 16 and journeyed to US 180, turning west and headed in the direction of Possum Kingdom and Breckenridge, Texas.

As I ascended the small mountains about Ioni Creek on US 180, I saw blackened trees and fence posts that had burned last night. The pasture lands were turned to cinders, but I saw no livestock affected. Hotspots of fence posts and erosion barriers emitted smoke and flames. Towards Possum Kingdom Lake, the Highway Patrol blockaded SH 16, and after a few more miles going west on US 180, I turned around and started back to the ranch.

I turned south on SH 16 towards Strawn, past Schoolhouse Road and St. Boniface and then realized why the Texas Forest Service and state officials had ordered an evacuation of Mingus and Gordon last night. The fire last evening had leapt the highway and was headed southwest towards the two villages. The Forest Service, Brazos Volunteer Fire Department and the Lone Camp Volunteers (other volunteer departments were also involved) had stopped it last night, but the frontline of combating it today and tomorrow was east of SH 16, about six miles north of Strawn. The Texas Department of Public Safety and Forest Service set up command posts in Strawn.

The winds tomorrow are forecast out of the south at 25 m.p.h. so the winds will carry any fire to the north and east. The Possum Kingdom Lake fire will not affect us. We will wait and see what else transpires when the dry line (nicknamed the Marfa Line) passes by tomorrow afternoon, lowering the humidity. Our ranch lies south of I-20 and we will be prepared for any outbreak of fire in our area. That means that we have trailers hitched, grass and lawns watered and the dogs ready to go with Star, our paint gelding.

With the exception of the sunset photograph, I have the photographs arranged in the order I traveled and time that I shot the pictures. When I came back to the house, I had to take off my coat and leave it in the utility room because it stank of smoke.

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Notes:

Correction: the church is St. Boniface, not St. Alban.

Changed verb conjugation: leap, leaped, leapt.

All photographs were taken NEF, uploaded JPEG. NEF file sizes ca. 10 megs., a digital negative.

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Filed under Wildfire

Tagged as Brazos Volunteer Fire Department, Gordon Volunteer Fire Department, Lone Camp Volunteer Fire Department, Mingus Texas, Possum Kingdom Fire, Possum Kingdom Lake, Possum Kingdom State Park, St. Boniface Catholic Church, Stawn Texas, Texas Forest Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas State Highway 16

April 15, 2011 · 10:10 pm

Mingus and Gordon, Texas, evacuated 15 APR 11

Officials have ordered the evacuation of Mingus and Gordon, Texas, six miles to the north of us.

News link on evacuation.

10:51 p.m. I have returned from Gordon and Mingus. Fire trucks are concentrating at Gordon. It’s fairly pacific there. Russell Stowe Ford Company seems to be moving all of their vehicles out of the building to another location. Some people are huddled at the volunteer fire department building.

The game warden said that our ranchito — south of Gordon six miles — would probably be okay and not to worry. He did state that the situation was serious or they wouldn’t have issued the evacuation order. Obviously, I thought to myself. Not much help there.

I went to Mingus and the bars were open and still serving drinks and the lights are on. A Burlington-Santa Fe freight train came roaring through town as I circled the Mule Lip Bar, so at least the railway tracks are presently clear between Mingus and Abilene. I much prefer Mingus to Gordon.

I came back to our ranch on the south access road of Interstate 20 and I saw in the distance the glow of the fire north of Mingus-Gordon. I estimate it was at least fifteen to twenty miles away, maybe more.

The wind has died down, probably around ten m.p.h. I can look directly up in the sky and see the moon despite the smoke.

14 Comments

Filed under Wildfire

Tagged as Gordon Texas, Mingus Texas, Possum Kingdom Fire

April 15, 2011 · 6:05 pm

Fire near Possum Kingdom Lake 15 APR 11

Smoke from Possum Kingdom Lake fire, MM 373, I-20, Mingus, Texas

Today is a bad day, a tragic day for our area in west-central Texas. A firefighter has been killed in fighting a fire near Gorman, Texas, about thirty-five miles west of us.

Our place is not in danger from the uncontrolled fires. Last Sunday we had nine-tenths of an inch of rain so there has been some moisture about the grass and trees. Not so north and west of us a few miles. I have the F-250 at the ready to hitch the horse trailer and take our livestock out of the area. In DeLeon, Texas, close to Gorman where the fire took the life of the firefighter, they have set up large stock pens for cattle, sheep and horses to be maintained. Local feed stores, farmers and ranchers have donated hay.

If necessary, I will drive to the Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery area for Star to be stabled.

There are at least four fires in the immediate area north and west of us. Today we have had the highest sustained wind for the year at about 34 m.p.h. and gusts over 55 m.p.h. The Texas Highway Patrol has closed State Highway north of Strawn, Texas, a nearby village to us.

State Highway 16 closed by Texas Highway Patrol.

I had to run an errand to Mingus Quick Stop and I took these photographs of the sky and smoke. The fire is approximately sixty miles away from where I took these pictures. The smell is pungent and eyes burn. My wife, Brenda, drove to Abilene this afternoon to attend a conference and fires were also breaking out west of Cisco. Even within the pickup, she reported burning eyes from the smoke.