The devastation from the Texas wildfires have killed more than 7,000 cows – with officials estimating the number of dead bovines could reach 10,000.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller told CBS News the number is expected to go because cows will be euthanized because of injuries sustained in the fires.
‘Their hooves are burned off, their utters are burnt beyond- they can’t nurse their babies. We’ll actually end up having to put a lot of cattle down just because they won’t be able to make it, even though they survived,’ Miller said.
As of Thursday morning, more than 1million acres of land have been destroyed in the wildfires fires and 66 counties in the state have burn bans in place, according to Texas A&M Forest Service.
More than 5,400 people in Texas were without power for a day last week as lines went dead due to fire damage. Xcel Energy has since taken blame for the downed lines and said that its equipment appeared to have sparked the Smokehouse Creek fire.
The devastation from the Texas wildfires have killed more than 7,000 cows – with officials estimating the number of dead bovines could reach 10,000.
As of Thursday morning, more than 1million acres of land have been destroyed in the wildfires fires and 66 counties in the state have burn bans in place
Texas A&M Forest Service officials reported three active fires are still raging – the Grape Vine Creek Fire in Gray County, which is 96 percent contained, the Smokehouse Creek Fire in Hutchinson County, which is 74 percent contained and the Windy Deuce Fire in Moore County that is 89 percent contained.
The Smokehouse fire, which took over an estimated 1,059,570 acres is the largest wildfire in the state’s history.
‘It’s very stressful. Let’s say you’re the sixth, seventh, eighth generation, you’re in charge of the family heritage. It becomes, at some point, you no longer own the land, the land owns you,’ Miller said.
‘All the family memorabilia is gone. All the heritage, all their memories are up – a lot of them only have the clothes on their back.’
Miller said that with over 11million heads of cattle in Texas, he has estimated that the final number of lost cattle could reach 10,000.
He said that he doesn’t believe that the loss will have an ‘overall price effect over the whole market’ across the country, but that it is still ‘devastating.’
‘And those cows, right now, are worth from $2,500 to $3,000 and there’s no insurance on those. That’s just a total wipeout,’ he said.
According to Wise Voter, in 2023, Texas was the leading meat producer in the country.
Referred to as the ‘undisputed champion of beef production,’ last year, Texas has more than 4million cows.
Miller said that a couple who ‘just started out’ in the cattle industry lost their entire herd of 200 cows, and that another rancher lost 700 cows.
The Smokehouse fire, which took over an estimated 1,059,570 acres is the largest wildfire in the state’s history. Many of the ranches in the state are more than 100 years old
Miller said that with over 11million heads of cattle in Texas, he has estimated that the final number of lost cattle could reach 10,000
Chance Bowers, the operator of the X-Cross-X Ranch told the Associated Press that across his three ranches, with 1,000, he believes he lost 250 of them to the wildfires.
Bowers said: ‘I’ve spent the last 15 years building this cow herd up,» he said. «And you can lose it overnight. We’ve been very blessed, very fortunate that we’re only gonna lose 200, you know?’
He said that besides the tragic loss of the cows, farmers have also lost their cotton production in the fiery disaster.
Rick Yantis, a farmer from Lamb County told Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network that ‘the ground is toast’ and that the winds and heat felt ‘more intense’ than last year’s fires.
‘The dryland cotton is blistered and burned. A lot of the crop is turning brown and dying. I’ve never seen it get to this point,’ he added.
Approximately 120 miles of powerlines were burnt down from the fires and also left seed and seven grain dealers ‘completely wiped out.’
Without the seed and grain, there was no food left for the surviving cows, along with electricity and water, Miller said.
He said that an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 miles of fencing was destroyed in the blazes and that just one-mile costs around $10,000.
Miller said that he is not only heartbroken about the animals that were lost in the fires, but the mental state of the famers who have been left with virtually nothing.
‘The highest rates of suicide in the nation are our veterans and our farmers,’ Miller said and added that his office offers mental health support for people in the industry, called the AgriStress Helpline.
The wildfires sweeping across the Texas Panhandle have led to evacuations, power outages, temporary shutdown a nuclear weapons facility, countless animal deaths and killed two people.
Last week, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties in his state experiencing the impact of the out-of-control flames.
‘Texans are urged to limit activities that could create sparks and take precautions to keep their loved ones safe,’ Abbott said.
More than 5,400 people in Texas were without power for a day last week as lines went dead due to fire damage. Xcel Energy has since taken blame for the downed lines and said that its equipment appeared to have sparked the Smokehouse Creek fire
The wildfires sweeping across the Texas Panhandle have led to evacuations, power outages, temporary shutdown a nuclear weapons facility, countless animal deaths and killed two people
Another rancher, Shane Pennington, 56, told CNN that he lost dozens and dozens of cattle in the Smokehouse Creek Fire
The community has since depended on assistance through donations like farming equipment, food, clothing, and one woman even said she is providing nebulizers for animals who inhaled the toxic wildfire smoke.
The Pantex plant, the country’s main facility that assembles and disassembles America’s nuclear arsenal, evacuated most of its personnel on Tuesday night.
By the next morning, however, Pantex announced that the facility was ‘open for normal day shift operations’ and that all personnel were to report for duty according to their assigned schedule.
Another rancher, Shane Pennington, 56, told CNN that he lost dozens and dozens of cattle in the Smokehouse Creek Fire.
He said that his staff found around 50 dead cattle, as some nursing cows desperately search for their lost calves.
‘We’re not finding many calves,’ he said. ‘So I know they burned up.’
The flames that engulfed the ranch just a few days ago decimated Pennington’s herd, causing horrible injuries to some of the cows that weren’t killed.
Some of the animals’ tails were burned, others were blinded by the flames.
‘It’s extremely hard to see ‘em suffer. I’ve raised some of them since they were babies,’ he said. ‘It’s just hard.’
