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Texas Agriculture Archive

February 17, 2006

Wildfire danger still high in Texas

Elsa Murano, vice chancellor and dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University, looks on as Texas Farm Bureau President Kenneth Dierschke presents an award to Texas Forest Service Director James Hull (right) in recognition of that agency's efforts in fighting wildfires in Texas this winter.

By Mike Barnett
Editor

After fighting some 543 fires that have scorched over 300,000 acres since Christmas 2005, James Hull, head of the Texas Forest Service (TFS), is ready for any break Mother Nature can throw his way.

His agency has led efforts of some 40,000 volunteer firemen fighting wildfires in most every part of the bone-dry state.

"The dollar losses to Texas agriculture, that's very close and important to all of us," Hull said at the recent drought summit sponsored by Texas Farm Bureau and attended by agriculture groups from across Texas. "But I must tell you that I agonize over the fact that just since Christmas, we've had three fatalities, we've lost 344 homes, and this is something I'm not used to. In fact, this is more loss of human life and improved property than I've seen in my entire 40-year career, combined."

Hull said that with records reaching back 158 years, Texas fire cycles are very predictable. What disturbs Hull is he's spent his entire career in a wet cycle, thinking it was normal.

"And now we're in this dry cycle, and quite frankly, Texans have forgotten how to deal with those kind of conditions," he said. "And while we were in that wet cycle, the population of the state has almost doubled."

The added population, Hull said, widens the gap in the state's capabilities to fight wildfire.

"As population grows, fuels continue to build and our capability is not keeping up with all of that," Hull explained.

Hull said the TFS uses a measure called the energy release component to determine how fire behaves—how serious it is going to be, how easy it is to start and how hard it is to put out.

The energy release component in January was the highest on record in Texas. Ordinarily in January, the energy release component would be an index of 20.

"The most droughty January we've ever seen was double that, 40," Hull said. "The highest we've ever seen in Texas was 68 in August. And in January of this year it was 70, the highest on record for any time of year.”

Hull maintains the wildfire situation is still critical. His agency has mobilized over 1,200 fire fighters, 99 helicopters and air tankers, 130 dozers and 57 pumping units from 38 states to help out.

“To put that in perspective, that’s 10 times the amount [of resources] we have here in Texas on a regular basis,” Hull said. “We were not prepared for that period through Christmas and the first two weeks of January. We have the resources here now to protect the state. But it’s very expensive.”