1 million and 80,000 acres (almost 1700 sq miles) burned. More land than King Ranch was when it was at it's largest. Hard to visualize, even for someone born and raised in Texas.
Ag commissioner Sid Miller stated this morning, that it is likely that 10s of thousands head of livestock have been killed and there's little or no forage left for surviving herds to eat.
Collection points are being set up to donate hay, feed, fencing supplies and other ranch supplies.
- Gray County Animal Supply Point: Clyde Carruth Pavilion, 301 Bull Barn Drive, Pampa. Contact Marcus Preuninger at 806-669-8033 or 325-728-0477.
- Hemphill County Animal Supply Point at Canadian AH&N Ranch Supply, 100 Hackberry St., Canadian. Contact Andy Holloway at 806-323-9114.
- Donations of hay can also be made through the Texas Department of Agriculture Hay Hotline.
- And, a relief fund has been established through the STAR Fund Disaster Assistance through the Texas Department of Agriculture.
- Direct monetary donations in Gray County should be sent to: City of Pampa – Attn: Finance, Box 2499, Pampa, Texas 79066-2499, reference 02/27/2024 Fire,
- or made by phone or in person at FirstBank Southwest-Pampa at 806-669-8007. Reference City of Pampa donation for Smokehouse Creek Fire.
- To make donations for people who lost their homes in Hemphill County, go to First Baptist Canadian at http://fbccanadian.org/firehelp/.
I've never been much on those GoFundMe things but:
The folks at GoFundMe have created an official hub to make it easier for people to make a donation that will truly support Texas wildfire victims.
All fundraising campaigns listed on
www.gofundme.com/c/act/wildfire-relief/texas have been reviewed and verified by GoFundMe's Trust & Safety team.