Two days ago, March 22, 2010, a brush fire raged out of control about four miles southwest of our place. My estimation of the location from our place on Poprock Hill was near High Salt Cove Creek, 32.43 deg. N., 98.39 deg. W., Stephenville Quad map.
High Salt Cove Creek Fire, March 22, 2010 (click to enlarge)
Volunteer fire departments from Huckabay, Gordon and other small communities converged on the fire and extinguished the blaze late yesterday evening. Despite recent snow and rain, last spring and summer’s growth of grass was dead and ignited.
The smoke colored the air a kind of amber about our home — not at all pleasant.
Cross Plains, Texas, Fire ca. 2007
Several years ago a huge fire broke out near Cross Plains, Texas, approximately seventy (70) miles southwest of Flying Hat. Brenda and I were attending a funeral near Cisco, Texas, and the wind and smoke completely covered the western sky. Several people were killed and the destruction obliterated sections of the community. A firefighter at Cross Plains reported that the wind changed directions while the town burned and swept into neighborhoods that had been bypassed with the first sweep of fire.
It was also the same year that the huge prairie fire in the Texas Panhandle destroyed livestock and several hundred square miles of grassland. Therefore, like any other community in the country, we are quite conscious of fire safety.
There are some good tips for making your country surroundings safe from the Texas Forest Service website below.
Sage to Meadow ~ Jack Matthews 