My State is on fire

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

Not a laughing matter.

 

Thousands of acres and hundreds of homes have been consumed by fire (doing a little research and calculation shows over 100,000 acres in current fires)

 

http://tx.dtswildfire.com/

[PopTodd]

Stay safe, Crow Daddy.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

It seems to be popular for folks in the rest of the country to slag off on Texas because of the pride we residents express for our state.

However, what is happening here is catastrophic. Most of the state is in an extended state of exceptional drought.

This year, Texas has received less than half its normal rainfall: 6.53 inches instead of 16.03. Climatologists say this dry spell is the worst one-year drought since Texas began keeping rainfall records in 1895, and they predict that the cause of the drought — the weather created by the Pacific current called La Niña — may well extend into next year. For farmers and ranchers, this is a disaster. Agricultural losses have already surpassed the record — $4.1 billion in 2006 — and could double.

 

There are no economic numbers for the wider ecological impact of this drought. Half the streams and rivers in the state are running well below ordinary flow, and lakes and reservoirs are faring no better. Wildlife of every kind is suffering as badly as livestock. Even if rainfall returns to normal, the next few years are likely to see serious reproduction declines in many species, especially those that depend on grasslands. Insect-eaters — bats and many birds — may not reproduce at all. Species that migrate to Texas in winter will find a desolate landscape awaiting them.

The real fear is that this may not be a one- or two-year drought, but the kind that lasts for 30 or 40 years. Droughts of that extent appear often enough in tree-rings, which suggest that they are part of normal historical weather patterns across the Southwest. Texans who recall the last extended drought, in the 1940s and ’50s, find themselves fearing that 2011 is the precursor to another desertlike decade. Like them, we earnestly hope that won’t be the case. The hard part is knowing that there is almost nothing to be done except to wait and see

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

 

Officials: 1,000 Texas homes burned in past week

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — State officials say more than 1,000 homes have burned in at least 57 wildfires in Texas over the past week.

Speaking Tuesday at a news conference near one of the fire-ravaged areas, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said more than 100,000 acres have burned in rain-starved Texas.

Perry said more than 1,000 homes have burned since Labor Day weekend, but Texas emergency management chief Nim Kidd subsequently said that number of homes has actually been lost in the past week.

The Texas Forest Service says nearly 600 of the torched homes are in a devastating Central Texas fire that's still burning out of control.

[Sir Stewart]

I heard this morning about firefighters fighting fires while knowing their very own homes were burning down at the time. Devastating.

[calvino]

Texas definitely has had a brutal summer - my wife has family in the Dallas area, haven't heard from them, I am assuming no news is good news...stay safe.

[kidsmoke]

California has been (a few years back) where Texas is now...all sympathies, Crow! The drought really set Texas up for a one-two punch. I hope you get rain or the firefighters find a way soon to get the fires under control.

 

Are any of the fires very close to you?