West Texas Fires

Hard to describe – started at one small stone house (thus the Stone House Fire) across the highway on the far west side of Marfa. Immediately spread across the street, at times the fire swept to the north so quickly our friend Paul (a volunteer firefighter) says their truck couldn’t keep up. Some cedar posts evaporated, cattle, coyotes, mountain sheep and other animals were burnt alive (if lucky, the others are being shot by compassionate men & women), up through the prairies along highway 17, at the end of the Marfa runway, spread across the highway, both sides of 17 – lunar surfaces today. The fire swept up houses on its way to Ft. Davis, and another 25 houses in Ft. Davis. Back along southern and western edges of Ft. Davis State Park, didn’t hit McDonald Observatory (yet. . .hopefully never . . . even today only 65% contained). Up through Wild Rose Path, the granite lined path from Ft. Davis to Balhmoreah. All the way up to the Boy Scout Camp – I read yesterday it was still just south of the camp – they now estimate 165,000 acres, 65% contained. It takes over an hour to travel its distance by car