When Monty Dozier saw the fire impact zone in Texas’ panhandle, the first thing that hit him was its magnitude. For him, the scene was like a moonscape — just bare ground.
“They'll be facing some issues with wind erosion, as we're still going to be in the windy part of the year, and there's no grass left kind of holding that soil in place,” said Dozier, program director of the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension disaster assessment and recovery team.
He also saw the loss of habitats for wildlife and cattle, and homes burned. Fires have raged in Texas, where the Smokehouse Creek wildfire became the largest wildfire in the state’s history after it began on Feb. 26. It crossed into Oklahoma and burned more than 1 million acres. By mid-March, fire crews had nearly contained the blaze.
This year, wildfires have already charred thousands of acres, killed livestock and destroyed structures and homes in the Great Plains. Evacuations were issued in parts of Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas. Other sections of states in the Midwest have also experienced higher fire risk.
It’s common for Oklahoma and parts of Texas to see more wildfires as winter turns to spring. But warmer temperatures, dry weather and wind speeds created optimal conditions for wildfires and their activity has increased, said Gary McManus, Oklahoma’s state climatologist.
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Categories: Illinois, Livestock, Beef Cattle, Weather