Texas Drought

[Texas Ranger]

http://photoblog.statesman.com/dry-season-the-texas-drought-of-2011

[clww]

Too bad Tropical Storm Lee isn't curving to the left. :(

[WH_Conley]

WOW. I feel for those people. A lot of lives will never be the same. I imagine the family farm will be hit the hardest.

[Woodwalker]

Pasture is dead. Dried up and eaten down to the dirt anywhere there is\were cattle. If they have something to eat it's being hauled in from out of state. The only part of the state that has had any measurable amounts of rain is an area between Houston and Orange along the coast.
Timber is dying everywhere you look. I quit counting at 32 dead Red and Water Oaks here around the house yesterday. The past week the amount has been increasing by two or three more dead ones a day when I come in from work. It's gotten so I don't even want to look.

[Norm]

Sorry to hear this guys, wish that latest ts had headed your way.

[red oaks lumber]

wow i knew it was dry down there but, man did those photos hit me hard! i know a rancher outside of dallas, i offered to graze and winter 100 head for him for a rate of gain. the trucking was a deal killer.
farmaid is putting together a huge hay lift for oklahoma and texas so hopefully that can make a small dent into a very huge crisis. hang in there guys prayers are on the way

[Texas Ranger]

The storm has given south east Texas, maybe, a half inch of rain.  We are down over 20 inches for the year.  We could use a tropical weather pattern, but not so much a hurricane.

WoodWalker, yep, lots of sand pastures in this area, cattlemen selling off herds because of the cost of hay.  There is a potential to lose more timber from the drought, than from Ike.

[Texas Ranger]

Subject: The Great Midland Flood of 2011

Definitely one of the best yet--even if you don't live in Midland or Odessa, any Texan can relate to this one!

The Great Midland Flood of 2011

(Midland, TX, Aug. 12, 2011) The city of Midland yesterday received one of the most remarkable and devastating weather events in the history of Texas.

In a mere 37 minutes, from 5:24 PM to 6:01 PM, Midland International Airport recorded more than twice the total amount of rain than had fallen during the previous 319 days, dating back to September 26, 2010.

Police officers reported that it was like a wall of water had descended upon the city. The water mixed with the nearly years worth of oil that had collected on roadways to make rush-hour travel nearly impossible.

One driver reportedly saw a stop sign too late and tried to slam on his brakes, only to end up in Odessa.

Cattle, who for several months had taken refuge from the drought and heat in giant cracks in the ground, were swallowed up whole by the Earth as the soil suddenly absorbed all the moisture and closed in over their heads. Rescuers, trained in Alpine avalanches, were going from ranch to ranch listening for distant mooing sounds.
Meanwhile, panicked young rattlesnakes took refuge in the branches of nearby mesquite trees.

In one especially hard-hit neighborhood, volunteers were going door-to-door in rubber boots looking for people needing assistance.

Two persons have been hospitalized so far. One, a 23-year-old woman, was standing on a street corner when the rain began. The driver of a nearby car attempted to activate his windshield wipers, and pieces of dried, brittle rubber flew off and struck her in the left eye.

The other injury was to a 47-year-old man who sprained his ankle while dancing.
John Nielsen-Gammon, the Texas State Climatologist, said that the 0.36 of rain Midland received in 37 minutes yesterday was still not sufficient to break the drought.
It's a very good start, he said. And the additional hundredth Midland received an hour later was really the icing on the cake. Just twenty-two more flooding events like this one, and Midland will be back up to normal precipitation for the year.

[Editor's note: the rainfall statistics in this story are accurate. Everything else is merely plausible.]

Texans still have a sense of humor about all this.  For now.

[Rocky_Ranger]

My Mom's place in western Arkansas is dry too for this year - not as bad as Texas, but pretty bad.  Record heat and lack of moisture.  I don't know how she will make it for hay this winter.  I've been looking around here in Arizona and may ship a load to her, if I can find some to buy.  Ya'll realize what this will do for beef and poultry prices down the road?  Heading to Colorado next weekend and may do some looking up there, I think they have had a pretty good grass year.  Will head back to Arkansas in late October or early November, I hope to time a trailer load of hay to arrive to unload, won't be all she needs but given some modest carryover and a below average first cutting it might make a difference.

TR, I feel for ya'll down there - I know you are still burning too..........

[GF]

I sure hope Texas and Oklahoma get some rain soon.   Texas is much worse than Oklahoma.   I sure wished the TS would have came up through Texas.   A colde front came through last noght and our high today is 81, no rain with it in our area.

GF

[Woodwalker]

Guess you can say we got a cold front. At least some cloud cover from Lee. First day in over 60 straight days that we haven't had temps over 100*.

[thecfarm]

I've been seeing this on the news. I sure do hope some rain will come your way.

[tcsmpsi]

Spending what time I have in trying to keep up with the harvesting of the larger dead trees, many of the smaller ones get 'left behind'.  Last night one fell across the drive (about 8" dia") and somehow, hit a rabbit, who have become much more prolific as with other wildlife, as I still have water in the pond.    From what I see out this way, the timber damage will be much more substantial than what was lost with Ike, even in the long run loss. 

Even with rain, and lots of it, it will be too little too late.   Going to be ....interesting.

[Texas Ranger]

Wildfire Update – Sept. 5, 2011

Current situation:

Texas Forest Service responded to at least 56 new fires Sunday that burned approximately 30,000 acres, including the following large fires:

BASTROP COUNTY COMPLEX, Bastrop County.  14,000 acres, no containment.  Heavy airtankers and single-engine airtankers assisted on this fire that started in the Lost Pines area just northeast of Bastrop.  The fire has moved unchecked for at least 16 miles to the south and has jumped the Colorado River twice.  The Circle D, K.C. Estates, Pine Forest, Colovista and Tahitian Village subdivision have been evacuated.   Firefighters are trying to hold the fire at FM 2571.  Reports indicate possibly 300 homes have been destroyed.

STEINER RANCH, Travis County.  150 acres, no containment.  The fire started just north of the Steiner Ranch subdivision.  More than 1,000 homes are under mandatory evacuation in Steiner Ranch.  At least 25 homes are reported lost.  A Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System strike team responded.

HENDERSON #495, Henderson County.  5,000 acres, unknown containment.  Three homes were saved.

#491, Limestone County.  3,000 acres, unknown containment.  Six homes were saved and one was lost on this fire 20 miles east of Waco.

DELHI, Caldwell County.  1,000 acres, unknown containment.  Twenty homes were saved and six were lost on this fire east of Lockhart.

BAILEY, Colorado County.  1,000 acres, unknown containment.  This fast-moving fire threatened 40 homes near Columbus.  Blackhawks, single-engine airtankers, and a heavy airtanker assisted.

MOORE, Smith County.  927 acres, 5 percent contained.  Ten homes were evacuated and five were lost on this fire burning on the Smith/Gregg County line.  Two civilian fatalities were reported. 

#545, Upshur County.  500 acres, unknown containment.  One hundred homes were saved; none lost.  The fire is burning East of Gilmer.

LUTHERHILL, Fayette County.  400 acres, unknown containment.  The community of Ruttersville was evacuated. 

BONBIEW RANCH, Van Zandt County. 350 acres, unknown containment.  Twenty homes were saved southeast of Canton.

CLEMANIS, Upshur County.  400 acres, 85 percent contained.  Twenty homes were saved.

#543, Gregg County.  300 acres, unknown containment.  Numerous homes were saved, none lost.

#538, Harrison County.  200 acres, contained.  One hundred fifty homes were evacuated in a trailer park east of Longview.

#502, Nacogdoches County.  200 acres, unknown containment.  More than a dozen homes have been evacuated, but none lost.

#841, Houston County.  200 acres, unknown containment.  Fifteen homes were threatened east of Crockett.

PLEASANT GREEN ROAD, Gregg County.  150 acres, contained.  Numerous homes evacuated and saved south of Longview.

KENNEDY ROAD, Rusk County.  150 acres, unknown containment.  Numerous homes threatened, one lost.

HODDE, Travis County.  325 acres, contained.  Two hundred homes were evacuated and saved east of Pflugerville.  No homes reported lost.

PETTYTOWN, Caldwell County.  200 acres, 90 percent contained.  Twenty homes were saved east of Lockhart.

OLD MAGNOLIA, Gregg County. 100 acres, unknown containment.  No homes threatened.  Two fuel tanks exploded.

SOUTH SULPHER, Hunt County. 100 acres, 70 percent contained.  Five homes were threatened and two were destroyed.

#839, Leon County.  100 acres, unknown containment.  Fifteen homes are reported lost.

[Rocky_Ranger]

TR, that one fire burned 300 homes?  I haven't heard a "peep" about these yet - this is just devastating............  

I just got a "buzz" on my Huckleberry (kin to a Blackberry) and the toll is now up to 400 homes destroyed, and over 16,000 acres.   

[Woodwalker]

TR, that one fire burned 300 homes?  I haven't heard a "peep" about these yet - this is just devastating............ 

I just got a "buzz" on my Huckleberry (kin to a Blackberry) and the toll is now up to 400 homes destroyed, and over 16,000 acres.   

Here's one news link http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/05/us-texas-wildfires-idUSTRE78426D20110905

[Autocar]

I was logging a job northwest of Lima Ohio and was crossing a pipe line right of way. A plane flew over checking me out a a bit later a Marathon pipeline truck shows up. We got to talking and I said to him I always wondered why the pipe line companys couldn't pump water though the lines when rivers on the east coast were at flood stage filling man made reservoirs out in Texas giving water for ranchers and farmers. I figure a win win for Texas and extra money for the pipe line companys. He tells me theres hundreds of abandoned pipe lines criss crossing the country. So I e-mailed the Lieutenant Govenor's office asking them there opinion. I never heard anything from them, go figure.  :

[red oaks lumber]

autocar,
that would make sense, so they can't have or do anthing that would work. :)send another email maybe send it to others of power

[Texas Ranger]

Bastrop fire now supposedly over 30,000 and 600 homes gone.

[ouachita]

Rocky and Texas Ranger,

Talked with a trucker Saturday.  Truckers are paying $35/round bale and hauling to Texas to sell at $100/bale.  Normal selling rate for local hay would be around $60-70/bale. 

Just pulled up the Conroe (Texas) Courier.  They just listed about 10 fires just in Montgomery County.  Montgomery County is the county just north of Houston, Texas. Most are smaller than 100 acres, but several could get interesting. 

In Fordyce, Arkansas, we were at the very edge of TS Lee and received about 1/2 inch of rain.  30 minutes after the rain stopped and the cool front came through, the pavement was completely dry.  Very dry air.

Going home from a trail walk this afternoon, I noticed major smoke west of Fordyce.  With 20 mph wind gusts, I don't think any one was on a summer prescription burn.

Rocky,
I heard yesterday that only 14 of the 44 P-3 Orions are flying, the rest being grounded by FAA for various reasons.  Any truth to that?

Ouachita

Charles Westmoreland CF, RF
Fordyce, Arkansas 

[Rocky_Ranger]

Don't know the type of planes, but one contractor has grounded most of their fleet due to aircraft age and maintenance issues.  I hear there are still plenty to do the job - just getting them where they need to be is a challenge.  I'd suspect the Type I heli-tankers would work well in Texas, fast and accurate, as well as carrying large payloads.

The Texas situation seems to be getting worse, maybe the weather will change.......

[Texas Ranger]

Winds have finally dropped, humidity still low, low fuel moisture, or, no fine fuel moisture.  The old fire dog in me woke up long enough to note that this is a young mans job, and went back to sleep.  Still, sad days in Texas. 

I watched film of the Bastrop fire and saw it crown over roads, and spot a hundred yards ahead.  I worked for 13 years on fire and only saw one crown fire, this year will be a historic reminder that man is a visitor, and nothing more.

[tcsmpsi]

Bastrop area has lost 1,400 homes, thusfar and 2 lives.  Wind picking up today.  Closer in, Montgomery, Grimes and Waller counties (they have a DC-10 dropping retardant) fires have given cause for great concern over all the smoke in this area today, very smokey in Livingston proper....and still...who knows?    Still, no rain in sight.
We have been 'losing water' since Ike came through.  Last I looked, we were 45 inches short of average rainfall, but that has been a while back.
Lots of youtube on the Bastrop area fire.  

(would post, but don't have the time to figure it out)

Every day, on the road to the house, I see more of the larger SYP and hardwoods dead.  Several areas, in that 5 mile drive, have become more dead than alive as I can see from the highway.

22,000 acres and at least 60 homes have been destroyed in the Montgomery (3 county) fire...wind is picking up and containment is waning.

As of this morning, 09/09/2011, there were 176 fires burning in Texas.  120 of the in East Texas.  Just heard a moment ago of a fire in the county, just outside Livingston.  No real details yet.

[ouachita]

Where are you at?   TRanger lives in Livingston and I'm formally down the street in Conroe.

Charles Westmoreland CF
Fordyce, Arkansas

[Texas Ranger]

He is about 3 blocks over from my office, another one of the Texas contingency.

Oh, and the fire in the county he mentioned, some yahoo burned trash and set the woods on fire.  I wonder why?  Why the woods caught, not why the yahoo lit it to start with, I mean really, such good days for burning, dry, windy, no fuel moisture.  'tis a puzzlement.

[Woodwalker]

TR, There ain't no rhyme or reason to dumb a$$.

[bugdust]

My ole submarine buddy from Texas sent me a photo of his new rain gauge. A bottle cap!

[Texas Ranger]

The bottle cap is out of date, we are using blotter paper, now.

[sandhills]

Hang in there guys, went through it in 02, what the drought didn't kill the hoppers ate up.  We didn't have the fires though, sure hope you can catch a few good rains, SOON!

[Magicman]

Where is a good hurricane when you need one?   :-\

[Woodwalker]

Where is a good hurricane when you need one?   :-\

Would take a bad one just to get some rain. 
I'm loosing 2-3 Oaks a day it seams like. Every time I stop and look around more and more of my big oaks are dying. Depressing. 

[Magicman]

We are also loosing Oaks, and we are not nearly as dry as you are.   :-\

[tcsmpsi]

A hurricane, if it strangely brought 110 mph winds to us as did Rita and Ike, with the ground and trees in the shape they're in....lawd, lawd. 

[Roxie]

This is breaking my heart.  We put a man on the moon, and we can't find a way to get all this flood water from the Northeast to the Southwest?  We don't need a tunnel, we have a railroad.  A railroad tanker can hold up to 33,000 gallons and we have tens of thousands of them.  Why isn't something being done? 

[Radar67]

Plenty of abandoned pipelines that could carry the water, just no common sense in the higher ups anymore.

[beenthere]

Anyone have an idea how many gallons of water it would take to help?

A good 2" rain would amount to how many gallons per acre?  Maybe 50,000 gallons?

And would there be an irrigation system already set up to distribute that water?

Just curious.

[Woodwalker]

One acre inch is something over 27,000 gallons of water. The Riley Rd. fire just west of here   has burned 22,000 acres, so one inch of rain on the burned area is 594,000,000 gallons at 8.3 pounds per gallon  :P :P(calculator down shifted) is,  ??? ??? well, a bunch.
Ya'll be willing to pay freight? :D :D :D

I haven't come up with anything other than having a couple of wells dug this fall. One to irrigate the garden and yard (we are on a rural water system). Another on a small hay field.

[Texas Ranger]

Tri County fire now at 85% contained, according to news 2.  Bastrop at 65% contained.  Tri County has now been burning six (6) days, for 28,000 acres.  That has got to be wrong, but what was reported.  A little less than 200 acres an hour.

[tcsmpsi]

One report I saw referred to the TriCounty fire at 35,000 acres on Saturday.   How much water/rain do you believe it would take to be of any notable benefit?  How much before it would be enough to be able to burn a fire in a woodstove?   10-20 inches, with regular rainfall thereafter?   

[Roxie]

I really wasn't thinking about irrigating the entire state.  My thoughts were more along the lines of filling those cattle ponds. 

[Texas Ranger]

Michael, I think that would be a start, but, ground waters are so low it will take decades to rebuild the aquifers. Long slow rains to reduce run off is the only salvation, tropical rains would be run off rains and flooding. 

Meanwhile a 4.4 earth quake hit west Texas, seems to be a year for such.

[tcsmpsi]

That was rather my, 10-20" of rain thinking, as to how it rained....when/if it does.  I am certain there will be extensive foundation problems with buildings, as all the shifting commences when/if water is supplied.  I am concerned about having to add that "if", but, for crying out loud, it begins to make one wonder.  

Certainly, it has been the times for 'waiting for the next shoe to drop'.

Going to be a cold winter if I can't build a fire.   

[Autocar]

After not hearing anything out of your Lt Govenor, I e-mailed the agriculture deptarment over the weekend so far I haven't heard anything out of any deptarment in Texas. To bad I still think it's a great idea that would make Texas flourish.. Bill

[tcsmpsi]

Just heard another wildfire sprouted in the county heading toward Onalaska.  Hoping it can be contained.

Heard anything, Don?

[Texas Ranger]

Sposed to be up around Chita, but, there is one over by Huntsville, as well.  The one by Chita supposedly started by a log truck wreck.

[WDH]

Uh oh, we have a 25,000 acre tract in that area just north of Skeeter's bar, but I am sure that y'all don't know where Skeeter's is  .

[Woodwalker]

Folks in my line of work always use bars, beer joints, fishing holes and hunting leases as points of reference.

[Woodwalker]

Ever wonder what a white bucket truck would look like if it got strafed by a DC10?
















He a house fire call, got there, lots of activity, fire about to get into a heavily populated area and the DC10 came in and dropped a load of retardant.   

[Brucer]

And then there was the novice Forest Service employee that called in a drop and forget that he was in the middle of a drop site :D :D. That was back when retardant was dyed purple.

To quote the old-timer I was working with, "You shoulda seen it. His face was red, his head and shirt was purple, and his pants was brown."

[Texas Ranger]

Ah, yes, skeeters, I seem to remember something about that place, but cannot put my finger on it. :

[tcsmpsi]

Folks in my line of work always use bars, beer joints, fishing holes and hunting leases as points of reference.

Whiskey salesman?    ;)   :D

They are considering the Chita/Trinity Co fire contained and that its domain was about 1,000 acres.   Thankfully, little to no wind and responsive firefighters.  

Thusfar, in this drought/wildfire time in the State of Texas, over 3,700,000 acres have burned, also consuming nearly 3,000 homes.

[Woodwalker]

If I did the math right, that is burning an area the size of the state of  Connecticut.

[tcsmpsi]

Judging by conditions, daily wildfires, and the perpetual 'intelligence' of others, that number is likely to be considerable more. 

I haven't a clue, as of yet, as a cost of utility repairs.  I do not forsee an ability for the utility companies to be able to keep up with the necessary tree removal before all these dead ones begin their dropping.

[Woodwalker]

Our vegatition dept. is doing nothing but dead tree removals. The normal cycle trimming stopped over a month ago.

[Kansas]

If you want to see something ugly, Look at the National Weather Service Drought area, plus their assessment for continued drought. You may have already seen it, but they aren't offering one bit of hope for Texas. There isn't one single part of Texas not in drought. And Texas is a big state.

What do most of the cities and towns in Texas do for a water supply? Aquifers, rivers or lakes? How much longer can they last?

[tcsmpsi]

We use all of the above, Kansas.  And yes, they are all drying.  How much longer?  Who knows?   This is all new territory.  Nothing on record has been this vast and deep.  Yes, 268,800 sq miles is a lot of area.  Enough so to make a significant impact on a substantially larger area.  Perhaps, many of our search for seccession might be closer than expected.   The Federalis might be glad to let us go.   ;D

[Woodwalker]

Yes, 268,800 sq miles is a lot of area.  Enough so to make a significant impact on a substantially larger area.  Perhaps, many of our search for seccession might be closer than expected.   The Federalis might be glad to let us go.   ;D

Secede? Nah, they better worry about us invading!

[Kansas]

If Texas is going to invade, they will have to go clear up to southern Nebraska to find water. Maybe Mexico has water. Its closer. Not sure I would drink it though.

[Woodwalker]

We got 1" of very badly need rain before daylight this morning. Another 20 something inches and we'll be about normal for the year.

[thecfarm]

Just hope you don't get it all at once.