In the Texas Panhandle region, the Smokehouse Creek wildfire has been burning for weeks, turning ranches to ashes and leading to the deaths of thousands of cows, leaving ranchers and farmers facing a long road to recovery.
On February 26, Garret Duvall from Wichita Falls told the Epoch Times that he received a call from his grandparents whose ranch is near Pampa, informing him that the wildfire was spreading towards their property.
“The fire was getting closer,” Duvall said, relaying his grandparents’ message. “So, I packed up and headed there to help stop the fire from reaching our home, but we were unsuccessful.”
In this series of wildfires, thousands of cows and two people perished, and the wildfire destroyed over 1.5 million acres of land, finally coming under control at the end of March. The fire also ravaged hundreds of homes and other structures, as well as thousands of miles of fencing.
When Duvall arrived at his grandparents’ ranch in Robertson County, evacuation efforts were already underway. This 33-year-old man had experienced wildfires twice before, but as he got closer to their home this time, he knew it was different.
“I knew it was going to be a major disaster,” he said, noting that when he arrived, he could only see about 50 feet ahead. “I knew it was going to be bad.”
Duvall mentioned that his grandparents were luckier than many others who lost homes, barns, and livestock. His family only lost a calf, but with the ranch scorched, they had to move the cows to a neighbor’s property.
“We were very fortunate,” Duvall said, adding that the fire was extinguished before reaching their home.
Despite this, the road to recovery in the Panhandle region is expected to take several years.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller told the Epoch Times that the wildfire destroyed thousands of miles of fencing, which needs to be replaced before the cattle can return to the pastures.
“It’s not an official number, but I estimate we will need to replace three to five thousand miles of fencing, costing around $15,000 to $20,000 per mile,” he said.
Miller also anticipated that in the coming weeks and months, the number of cattle lost would increase from an estimated 7,000 to 10,000, doubling the initial count.
“We may have to deal with a total of 15,000 to 20,000 cows,” he said, adding that many cows would have to be euthanized due to burned hooves or udders that won’t heal. “There will be a lot of respiratory problems in the next six months due to smoke inhalation.”
In addition to the loss of cattle, the Panhandle region also “lost seven grain and seed dealer businesses” in the wildfires, as well as the region’s hay stocks crucial for feeding livestock until the grasslands recover.
When lifelong rancher Lee Wells from Caddo Mills began seeing news reports about the Panhandle wildfires and hearing stories of complete property loss, he knew he couldn’t stand by idly.
A friend called him, asking if he could help transport a load of hay to the area.
Within days, his friend made the first trip there and had the chance to meet some ranchers.
“He came back and said, ‘It’s bad, really bad,'” Wells told the Epoch Times. “He told me a story about delivering a load of hay to a gentleman who a few days prior had a mental breakdown because he had lost everything.”
“He didn’t know how he was going to bounce back, and that just broke my heart.”
Having experienced a fire on his nearly 1,000-acre ranch years ago, Wells said he could empathize with the ranchers’ ordeal.
“We lost some cows. All of our fences were cut by firefighters back and forth, not leaving a blade of grass. It was a very, very bad deal,” he recalled telling the Epoch Times about the fire on his ranch. “When I saw hundreds of ranches burned, I felt like I had to do something.”
Wells also owns a ranch restaurant in Rockwall and, since March 1, has spent countless hours making calls, raising funds, and coordinating over 125 volunteers.
It all started with a Facebook post.
“If you’d like to donate to purchase hay and feed to send to Amarillo, I’ll accept donations to pay for the feed and hay cost (I’m donating some hay). I’m also looking for someone with a gooseneck flatbed trailer to help haul. Please comment!” he wrote.
After the post went live, comments and donations started pouring in.
Wells reached out to Texas Northeast Farmers Cooperative manager Chuck Smith to select high-quality feed suitable for cattle, goats, and sheep so he could buy in bulk and transport it to the Panhandle region.
About 10 minutes later, Smith called back with news that would further expand the donations.
“We’ll sell it to you at cost,” Smith told Wells. “We’ll bag it and load it, and do what we can to help you out.”
“I just felt like getting involved was the right thing to do,” Smith told the Epoch Times. “I’m a rancher in Northeast Texas, and, like I told him, all it takes is one tornado or hailstorm to wipe us out.”
“I can’t imagine what these families are going through,” he continued. “It’s what Christians should do. You know, I’ve known from a young age that if you have the ability, you should help others.”
At 59, Smith planned to continue supplying feed at cost as needed.
After seeing Wells’ social media post, Natalie Meeks contacted him and offered to deliver goods to ranchers.
“I don’t have any special skills. We don’t have any hay, we don’t have any land,” Meeks recollected her conversation with Wells when she spoke to the Epoch Times. “But you know, I have a truck, and I can pull any trailer.”
Meeks owns a cattle lifestyle company called Cattle Mafia, and while not raised on a ranch, she fell in love with the lifestyle and the people in the industry.
Within days, she was hauling the first batch of hay, cattle medicine, and other items to the Panhandle region with a borrowed trailer.
Arriving in Wheeler to unload the truck, it was already dark.
Since that first trip, Meeks has made multiple deliveries to the area. Besides the devastating losses, one of the most prominent things for her on every trip is the kindness, warmth, and gratitude she receives.
“When we get there, they’re more worried about, ‘Are you hungry? Are you tired? Do you need a hot meal?'” she explained, holding back tears. “They’re not worried about themselves. They’re worried about their neighbor.”
After several visits, Meeks highlighted the urgent need in the Panhandle region for fencing supplies and volunteers to aid in repairing and constructing fences. She is collaborating with another group to hold fundraisers to meet this demand.
At the time of this article’s publication, Wells’ efforts had raised over $98,000. According to his website, he and his volunteer team had sent 205 tons of grain and over 1,000 bales of hay to the Panhandle region.
“Every penny raised goes directly to feed,” he said.
Wells expressed surprise that many people were unaware of “the severity of this disaster.”
“The initial story got out, but the follow-up stories—because the fires burned for several weeks—somehow became old news,” he continued. “But there are still a lot of people who lost everything they had.”
But he is taking further steps.
On his first trip to the Panhandle region, Wells assembled a film crew, recording interviews with ranchers and farmers, and filming hours of footage depicting the devastation caused by the uncontrollable wildfires.
His recent goal is to keep this story in people’s minds so they won’t forget the years-long rebuilding process that is just beginning.
Ultimately, he plans to produce a full documentary, sharing the personal stories of Texas Panhandle ranchers, believing that these stories can inspire hope, resilience, determination, and love.
If you would like to donate or volunteer to help with the ongoing efforts of the Texas Wildfire Relief organization, please visit Wells’ website.