‘This is a years-long recovery’: The Panhandle rebuilds after devastating wildfires

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Around this time last year, a few downed power lines started a series of fires that would eventually go on to burn more than a million acres of land in the Texas Panhandle.

It took three weeks before the Smokehouse Creek Fire was declared 100% contained by the Texas A&M Forest Service. But by that time, at least two people had been killed, as well as an estimated 15,000 head of cattle and more than 100 homes and businesses were destroyed. The recovery effort still going on today.

Texas Monthly writer Emily McCullar, who did a recent cover story on the subject, joined Texas Standard with more on where things stand. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.

This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:

Texas Standard: It’s my understanding that you traveled up to the Panhandle to do your reporting here. Where did you go? What did you see?

Emily McCullar: I spent most of my time in Hemphill County, which was just one of the counties affected by the Smokehouse Creek Fire and the other fires that burned in February and March of last year.

I remember Hemphill, in particular, being really featured heavily. Was that where it started?

It started, I want to say, in Gray County, outside of a town called Stinnett. But it got to Hemphill within a day.

What was it like when you got there? What did you see?

Well, I drove in at golden hour coming up from the south, and it’s a beautiful part of the Panhandle. There are a lot of canyons and mesas.

I came in expecting to see a desolate, burnt landscape in the summer, but it was pretty green. One of the first things anybody told me was, “You noticed it’s green, right?” And I said, “Yeah.” And they said, “That’s all weeds.” So it was a deceptive entrance.

Wildfires obviously have a big history in the region, but your reporting says over the past 20 years they’ve become more frequent.

They have, yeah.

Why is that?

There are a few reasons. There’s a lot of old infrastructure up there, a lot of old oil and gas equipment, so there’s plenty of ignition sources. But the warming climate and changing weather patterns have had a huge effect.

What about the economic impact of the Smokehouse Creek Fire and the other fires? Of course, that wasn’t the only fire.

It’s estimated that it could cost the area about a billion dollars. It’s a huge dent in the economy.

And obviously, a big part of that economy is agriculture.

Yes, a huge part.

» RELATED: Panhandle wildfire documentary ‘We’re Here’ captures ranchers’ resilience

What sort of stories did you hear when you went up there?

I heard a lot from ranchers whose properties have been burned multiple times. I heard about dead cattle scattered across the county and having to walk your land, putting cows out of their misery one by one.

Fire is such a dominant part of their lives. They have a whole infrastructure of volunteer firefighters and citizens who jump into action the minute a fire comes up. Their lives and businesses revolve around this threat now.

Everyone rallies.

Yes.

But if someone’s entire livelihood is built on ranching and they lose all their cattle, how do they even begin to start over? Or do they start over?

Some do. I think a lot want to, but it just takes years.

The other thing is that when these cows died, the market was at a high point. So even if they got insurance money for their dead cows and wanted to buy back in and grow another herd, it would be cost-prohibitive. I think it’s one day at a time for everybody up there — starting small and trying to grow again.

Is it your sense that most folks have been able to get back on their feet?

No, not yet. It’s going to be a years-long process.

Now, it’s my understanding that, at least historically speaking, some of these fires are started by abandoned oil and gas equipment in the area. Is that something that’s being addressed by officials or oil and gas companies?

It’s a little up in the air. [State] Rep. Ken King filed a bill this past week to give the Public Utility Commission more power in regulating that sort of thing.

The issue is that these oil and gas companies have their own power lines, and they’re not regulated by the PUC. The Railroad Commission isn’t regulating them either. So it’s just kind of the Wild West.

A lot of folks living in the Panhandle, I don’t want to say take it for granted, but fires are a part of life. And yet, for those of us who don’t live there, we have no idea how much fire has become an integral part of life in the Panhandle and how that affects quality of life.

Yeah, it really affects quality of life. I think people in the Panhandle sometimes feel forgotten. I’ve had readers reach out since the story came out saying, “Thank you for getting our story out there.”

The Panhandle burns often — there was a massive fire in 2017, another in 2006. Everybody rallies around those affected when it’s happening, and then people just move on.

Does that carry over into how the state policymakers and lawmakers think about the region? Do they feel abandoned by state resources?

I don’t want to speak for them, so I don’t know.

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You talked with a lot of people in the Panhandle for this story. How do they feel about the future of the region?

I think they’re worried. They’re optimistic, hardworking people, and they’re going to forge ahead, but they live their lives thinking, “It’s not ‘if,’ but ‘when’ the next fire comes through.”

That’s a scary way to live. How do you invest in a business that’s also a family business, passed down for generations, when everything could burn in a moment? It’s a scary and sad reality.

And how do you keep younger people in that business?

Yeah, it’s already hard enough. How do you invest years of your life and resources into building a herd, knowing that in 20 minutes, it could all be gone? And then you’re lucky if you can even start over.

Texas Monthly made this a cover story. Why? With so much going on in the state, why was this something to focus on?

Well, like I said, it’s not if but when the next fire comes through. It’s important to remember not just what happens in the immediate aftermath when we can donate to GoFundMe campaigns and send hay, but that this is a years-long recovery.

The cattle industry in the Panhandle is such a crucial part of Texas identity. No matter why you think these fires are happening, you have to admit that they are happening. As a community, as a state, we need to figure out a way to adapt so that we’re not leaving these ranchers out in the cold.