Our BYC members who live in the disaster areas of west Texas are in need of our prayers for all they're going through. I am heart sick for them all and would like to start a thread for them so they know they are in our thoughts and prayers at this time. In one of my email groups, a dear friend who is living this nightmare gave her own account of what they're going through. You can tell by the way it's written that the stress has so be unbearable. Many may not have power and obviously it would be on the bottom of the list of things to do during such a time but my friend wanted to let us all know how she is doing. You can "feel" what she's going through. Please help with prayer and thoughts for our friends in Texas, they could use all the help they can get.
Here is what she shared with the group, I've left out her name on purpose and just copied and pasted her post:
If you havent seen the news (Ive been told that we made the national news as a disaster area, and biggiest wildfire in TX history) we are on fire. It is 0% contained. Came across from Marfa Saturday in the high winds to Ft Davis in like 20 minutes. Half of the town of Ft Davis is gone (and its doubled back today and is burning a lot of what was spared Saturday). I was in the ER with Cody as Dually my PMU horse bucked him off 3 times in 45 minutes, the last one, he bucked him off, bucked into a tree, fell down, jumped up and bucked over the top of him. Cody ended up with a knot on his head, a swollen jaw, a hoof print around his belly button, a huge bruise on his side, a swelled knee (same one he had worked on last year) and a swollen ankle. Thankfully nothing was broken, but we were in the ER and they told us there was a fire in this area and we booked it home, got stopped by a sawed off hwy patrol that told us he didnt care if we had animals in the pens we werent getting by him, hed arrest us, we were planning on one keeping him busy and the other hauling butt to the house, but thankfully I have connections to the top guy and he got us through. Smoke was SOOO bad in the canyon, your couldnt breath or see, I ran to the pens, got everyone haltered and penned and leads hanging on the gate, and grabbed Monte and the goat and had to come to Balmorhea, I just couldnt breath with my asthma, Cody stayed to watch. was in town for like 1 1/2 hour and Cody called to come get everything, its a dang good thing my horses will load in the dark easily!, cause we just literally backed up to the gate and ran everyone in, and threw dogs in behind them and hauled butt out. Stayed in town that night, came back up yesterday to help the guys watch and see what we needed to do at the 3 different camps. It honestly looked like it was dying down about 5 or so, so I came to town to feed and check on Monte, but no sooner had I pulled in then Cody called and said they were evacuating our neighbor and the lady up from him( about 5 miles total from our Red Pens house). Hauled butt back up here, and we found a bull dozer and dozed around his house and went to see if we could help the other lady. OMG she had a guy that worked for her (shed elderly but gets around good) and he grabbed a bunch of HS boys, and I think it rattled those boys pretty good. The flames were SO big they were just hopping from one side of the hwy to the other. It was big and hot, Ive never seen flames that red before. They had to set a backfire from that house and those guys were literally socked in at the house, no earthly way to get out if they wanted to. we saw deer and everything coming out of the brush, and hauled it to cut fences everywhere we could for the cattle trapped between the fire and fence, that is the oddest sight ever. The road going to the house stopped it and it died down last night. Cody and I came home to no power, and no phone about 1 am, he slept till about 4 am, and that ended about 45 hours or so of him being up. Meanwhile, it had jumped the hwy across from the house, and was going up star mnt, last night it was very slow moving. This am is was going good. A hot spot on the other side had flared and was headed to the neighbors again, and we literally had 5 guys (ranchers) and a cattle sprayer fighting it before it got to the draw and bad brush. we finally got some form of fire fighters from Cash, Greenville, and Frisco that were parked on the side of the hwy just watching our guys fight it! I stopped and told a hot shot guy that they needed to send some help over there instead of just watching it and letting it get away and burn houses up (this was like 1/2 from the neighbors house by then), he informed me they were instructed to watch the star mnt fire. I was a bit ticked and I did let him have a piece of my mind! They guys did get it out, and the star mnt fire was big. It came up one side of star crossed it and came down on the Duncan camp side (or new house), but is currently in the canyon, and running behind Awahoo Mnt which is the big mnt behind the Duncan house, if it stays that course that camp will be ok, if it doesnt its gonna go, unless the guys get it out. If it stays the course its headed for the ranch hq down from the Duncan and the Boy scout camp. I can see the glow right now, and its big and its burning all the trees up from the TP lake. Mom Called and said that she can see flames from town. Its also double back today and is burning stuff in Ft Davis that survived Saturday. Ft Davis is just about gone, over 50 homes burned down to the ground, homes with a lot history just flat out gone. My brother was up there Sat night trying to help them, and he said it was like a disaster area, houses blowing up, propane tanks blowing up, gas tanks blowing up. LOTS around there lost livestock, because the idiotic HWY cops wouldnt let them through, a friend lost 7 head of horses, they burned up. Our neighbor that has the ranch beside us, lives in town and he couldnt get in to get his 5 head. for a while cause of the cops. When he finally got through there and to them, his gas tank had exploded that was by the pens and three horses were already dead, but two were still alive and burning. They said it smelled like a branding fire in Ft Davis its so bad. From about 8 miles from our house to Ft Davis, its just nothing, flat black rocks, you can catch a pipe post here and there, but it even melted the guardrails. For the moment, the Red Pens house (this one) is safe, unless the wind changes and flares up a hot spot. The Duncan is ok right now, unless it changes direction, time will tell on that. Half our stuff is here and half is at the Duncan. Please pray for rain and help!! We had spotter planes, and lazies that are sitting on the side of the road watching it burn stuff up, but we have NO help to fight it, its just the guys and a cattle sprayer at the moment and a lot of gunny sacks. I know this is a huge thing, it went in all directions from Ft Davis but I do think theyve forgotten us, just makes you sick to your stomach. This thing this whole time has done so much switching directions, that Im not counting anything as safe, cause its ok one minute and an hour later its fixing to get you. And I have realized that Im gonna have have perfect driving after this, cause Ive just about buzzed by so many HWY cops that refused to let me through to my house coming from checking stuff, that they may have a warrant out for me, lol or my license plate, lol, but Ill be danged if Im gonna set back and let my stuff burn up cause they wont let me through, Ive told a few to just chase me, I was going. lol
Here is what she shared with the group, I've left out her name on purpose and just copied and pasted her post:
If you havent seen the news (Ive been told that we made the national news as a disaster area, and biggiest wildfire in TX history) we are on fire. It is 0% contained. Came across from Marfa Saturday in the high winds to Ft Davis in like 20 minutes. Half of the town of Ft Davis is gone (and its doubled back today and is burning a lot of what was spared Saturday). I was in the ER with Cody as Dually my PMU horse bucked him off 3 times in 45 minutes, the last one, he bucked him off, bucked into a tree, fell down, jumped up and bucked over the top of him. Cody ended up with a knot on his head, a swollen jaw, a hoof print around his belly button, a huge bruise on his side, a swelled knee (same one he had worked on last year) and a swollen ankle. Thankfully nothing was broken, but we were in the ER and they told us there was a fire in this area and we booked it home, got stopped by a sawed off hwy patrol that told us he didnt care if we had animals in the pens we werent getting by him, hed arrest us, we were planning on one keeping him busy and the other hauling butt to the house, but thankfully I have connections to the top guy and he got us through. Smoke was SOOO bad in the canyon, your couldnt breath or see, I ran to the pens, got everyone haltered and penned and leads hanging on the gate, and grabbed Monte and the goat and had to come to Balmorhea, I just couldnt breath with my asthma, Cody stayed to watch. was in town for like 1 1/2 hour and Cody called to come get everything, its a dang good thing my horses will load in the dark easily!, cause we just literally backed up to the gate and ran everyone in, and threw dogs in behind them and hauled butt out. Stayed in town that night, came back up yesterday to help the guys watch and see what we needed to do at the 3 different camps. It honestly looked like it was dying down about 5 or so, so I came to town to feed and check on Monte, but no sooner had I pulled in then Cody called and said they were evacuating our neighbor and the lady up from him( about 5 miles total from our Red Pens house). Hauled butt back up here, and we found a bull dozer and dozed around his house and went to see if we could help the other lady. OMG she had a guy that worked for her (shed elderly but gets around good) and he grabbed a bunch of HS boys, and I think it rattled those boys pretty good. The flames were SO big they were just hopping from one side of the hwy to the other. It was big and hot, Ive never seen flames that red before. They had to set a backfire from that house and those guys were literally socked in at the house, no earthly way to get out if they wanted to. we saw deer and everything coming out of the brush, and hauled it to cut fences everywhere we could for the cattle trapped between the fire and fence, that is the oddest sight ever. The road going to the house stopped it and it died down last night. Cody and I came home to no power, and no phone about 1 am, he slept till about 4 am, and that ended about 45 hours or so of him being up. Meanwhile, it had jumped the hwy across from the house, and was going up star mnt, last night it was very slow moving. This am is was going good. A hot spot on the other side had flared and was headed to the neighbors again, and we literally had 5 guys (ranchers) and a cattle sprayer fighting it before it got to the draw and bad brush. we finally got some form of fire fighters from Cash, Greenville, and Frisco that were parked on the side of the hwy just watching our guys fight it! I stopped and told a hot shot guy that they needed to send some help over there instead of just watching it and letting it get away and burn houses up (this was like 1/2 from the neighbors house by then), he informed me they were instructed to watch the star mnt fire. I was a bit ticked and I did let him have a piece of my mind! They guys did get it out, and the star mnt fire was big. It came up one side of star crossed it and came down on the Duncan camp side (or new house), but is currently in the canyon, and running behind Awahoo Mnt which is the big mnt behind the Duncan house, if it stays that course that camp will be ok, if it doesnt its gonna go, unless the guys get it out. If it stays the course its headed for the ranch hq down from the Duncan and the Boy scout camp. I can see the glow right now, and its big and its burning all the trees up from the TP lake. Mom Called and said that she can see flames from town. Its also double back today and is burning stuff in Ft Davis that survived Saturday. Ft Davis is just about gone, over 50 homes burned down to the ground, homes with a lot history just flat out gone. My brother was up there Sat night trying to help them, and he said it was like a disaster area, houses blowing up, propane tanks blowing up, gas tanks blowing up. LOTS around there lost livestock, because the idiotic HWY cops wouldnt let them through, a friend lost 7 head of horses, they burned up. Our neighbor that has the ranch beside us, lives in town and he couldnt get in to get his 5 head. for a while cause of the cops. When he finally got through there and to them, his gas tank had exploded that was by the pens and three horses were already dead, but two were still alive and burning. They said it smelled like a branding fire in Ft Davis its so bad. From about 8 miles from our house to Ft Davis, its just nothing, flat black rocks, you can catch a pipe post here and there, but it even melted the guardrails. For the moment, the Red Pens house (this one) is safe, unless the wind changes and flares up a hot spot. The Duncan is ok right now, unless it changes direction, time will tell on that. Half our stuff is here and half is at the Duncan. Please pray for rain and help!! We had spotter planes, and lazies that are sitting on the side of the road watching it burn stuff up, but we have NO help to fight it, its just the guys and a cattle sprayer at the moment and a lot of gunny sacks. I know this is a huge thing, it went in all directions from Ft Davis but I do think theyve forgotten us, just makes you sick to your stomach. This thing this whole time has done so much switching directions, that Im not counting anything as safe, cause its ok one minute and an hour later its fixing to get you. And I have realized that Im gonna have have perfect driving after this, cause Ive just about buzzed by so many HWY cops that refused to let me through to my house coming from checking stuff, that they may have a warrant out for me, lol or my license plate, lol, but Ill be danged if Im gonna set back and let my stuff burn up cause they wont let me through, Ive told a few to just chase me, I was going. lol
