Working Ranch April/May 2025

144,045 acres and hundreds of struc tures, including part of the town of Fritch, Texas. PRAIRIE FIRES Wildfires are not new to the expan sive Llano Estacado. In most cases, cowboys had time to cut fences and push cattle from one pasture to another. The flat, treeless landscape afforded a clear view of one to two miles, as is the case today. Locals could see the approaching flames and have a plan in place before it reached them. That plan included back-burn ing or blading plants at the root which destroys the fuel and effectively stops

the advancing flames. Devoid of a strong wind, wildfire can move at a gentle creep across short grass country. Before diesel-powered equipment, ranchers dug narrow fur rows 75 to 200 feet apart and burned the pasture in between. Flames were beaten back with wet gunny sacks, slickers, or cowhide chaps. Another option was to kill a steer and skin one side. With ropes tied to each hind leg, the carcass was dragged over the active fire line. One cowboy rode on the burnt side and one cowboy rode on the dry grass side. The horse trotting on the burnt patch had to be switched often, or risk being

hree fires ignited on February 26, 2024, in the Texas Panhandle. The Smokehouse Creek fire was caused by a broken

powerline pole ignit ing grass one mile north of Stinnett, Texas. It extended into Oklahoma and burned 1,058,482 acres, the largest wildfire in Texas history. The Grape Vine Creek Fire started 9.5 miles southwest of Lefors, Texas burning 34,883 acres. The one that swept over our ranch was the Windy Deuce Wildfire which started east of Masterson caused by a powerline igniting a tree. It consumed around

A resilient agricultural community rides the fire line to save a remnant. BY NATALIE BRIGHT

Smoke hovers over Lake Meredith from the Windy Deuce Wildfire, March 2024.

STEPHANIE ESTES

56 I APRIL / MAY 2025 WORKING RANCH audited readers run 21 million head of beef cattle.