Texas on fire

[jtk1519]

Over a million acres burned, fires in 252 of the state's 254 counties, West Texas burning particularly bad.


http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...dfires/100050/

The McDonald Observatory complex in the Davis Mountains...




http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...dfires/100050/










http://www.shaggybevo.com/board/show...=1#post2705582

Around Possum Kingdom Lake. On a personal note, I spent most of my childhood in Abilene so we spent many weekends and a lot of Summers at Possum Kingdom. We used to go to the beach at the state park and sit along the shore and watch the deer come out of the woods and walk right up to us. Such amazing natural beauty, abundant wildlife and multi-million dollar waterfront homes... much of which is now gone...














http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...dfires/100050/








http://www.dailymail.co.uk


www.dallasnews.com

These pics taken by a Game Warden patrolling PK Lake...


(the large house on the hill burned down shortly after this picture was taken)






www.reporternews.com








www.reporternews.com

A few pics from the Austin area...




http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...dfires/100050/

[KevinFromTexas]

http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/in...9_12555427.jpg

^As far as I know they saved that one. I saw another photo of that house and the hill behind it with a C-17 dumping fire retardant around it, and those flames on the ridge were gone.

[KevinFromTexas]

The fires have now burned 1.8 million acres. That's 2,800 square miles. That's 600 square miles bigger than the State of Delaware.

ACC's Pinnacle Campus building. It was about a mile from the fire.


(Kenny Richter READER PHOTO)
Reader photos from the fire in the Oak hill area that damaged homes on Sunday, April 17, 2011.
http://galleries.statesman.com/galle...-04171/#165578

Reader photos:
http://galleries.statesman.com/galle...-04171/#165578

Austin American-Statesman photos:
http://galleries.statesman.com/galle...041711/#165525

McDonald Observatory gallery - these were taken by the observatory's astronomers.
http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/news/...llery.php?t=28

CNN gallery
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2011/...ex.html?hpt=T1

[Centropolis]

Man, Missouri is getting absolutely brutalized every day by rain and hail, wish some of that would head south! That's nuts!

[jg6544]

Terrible; looks like southern California in the fall.

[jtk1519]

Shortly after posting this thread, storms moved through North Texas including the Possum Kingdom area and it's been pretty humid since then which has helped a lot.

Some more shots from in and around PK...




















http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/04...gdom-fire.html

[dktshb]

Very sad... The TX hill country out west is my favorite part of TX.

[photoLith]

Wow, that looks like the brush fires they get in Australia, crazy!

[KevinFromTexas]

More photos here:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...12_600x450.jpg

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...53_600x450.jpg

Texas-Size Scars

Dark red splotches show burn scars caused by the 2011 Texas wildfires in a false-color NASA satellite picture taken April 18.

The frame includes areas damaged by the Swenson fire (top right) and the Cooper Mountain Ranch fire in the northwest part of the state. Combined, the two wildfires burned more than 280,000 acres (113,312 hectares). (See pictures of the Texas wildfires.)

Published April 28, 2011

[AusHou]

So according to the Austin paper today, Gov Rick Perry is complaining that he hasn't seen action on his request for federal assistance, and he points out that Alabama is already getting a lot of attention. Uh...Rick...what's the number of fatalities and injuries in Texas' fires relative to Alabama's tornadoes? And what have been the relative costs? I can't believe he has the nerve to complain when Alabamans are hurting so much. Actually, I can believe it. It's Rick Perry. The way the Austin paper quoted him, he came across as extremely uncaring about Alabama's situation.

I've tried to find the link to this article online but no luck so far.

[diskojoe]

i really had no idea that things were this bad up north.

[jtk1519]

Originally Posted by AusHou

So according to the Austin paper today, Gov Rick Perry is complaining that he hasn't seen action on his request for federal assistance, and he points out that Alabama is already getting a lot of attention. Uh...Rick...what's the number of fatalities and injuries in Texas' fires relative to Alabama's tornadoes? And what have been the relative costs? I can't believe he has the nerve to complain when Alabamans are hurting so much. Actually, I can believe it. It's Rick Perry. The way the Austin paper quoted him, he came across as extremely uncaring about Alabama's situation.

I've tried to find the link to this article online but no luck so far.

Perry had every right to be pissed. Nobody would deny Alabama needed help, but Texas was asking for help when the fires were still out of control and the US Forest Service was openly saying it had available resources to help, but the federal government sat on their ass. The federal government has very few jobs that it is actually supposed to do, but this is one of them.

Over 2 million acres burned, tens of millions of dollars worth of damage to the agriculture industry in the Western part of the state. Who knows how much might have been saved with requested help.

[SLO]

Great job documenting the fires. I heard after the weekend storms that all the fire are out.

[AusHou]

Originally Posted by jtk1519

Perry had every right to be pissed. Nobody would deny Alabama needed help, but Texas was asking for help when the fires were still out of control and the US Forest Service was openly saying it had available resources to help, but the federal government sat on their ass. The federal government has very few jobs that it is actually supposed to do, but this is one of them.

Over 2 million acres burned, tens of millions of dollars worth of damage to the agriculture industry in the Western part of the state. Who knows how much might have been saved with requested help.

Heard on today's news that the request was denied. There are formulas and procedures and Texas didn't meet the criteria. FEMA says that it had already provided 25 grants to the state this year that will cover this situation (don't know how that works, though).

As for Perry, a great number of people nationally (and in the state) are taking pleasure in seeing this denial happen, considering that he has spent a couple of years blasting the federal government. The feds are bad except when he needs something. I do feel bad for the people who have lost their homes in the fires. I think everyone does.

[pallo]

Originally Posted by AusHou

Actually, I can believe it. It's Rick Perry. The way the Austin paper quoted him, he came across as extremely uncaring about Alabama's situation.

What do you expect from Republicans
Those people would sell their own mother if they had to....

[AusHou]

And most of the fire damage to homes was in areas of hard core, anti-government conservatism. But of course they wanted federal government help when they found themselves in need. But I wouldn't want this tragedy to happen to anyone.

[jtk1519]

Originally Posted by pallo

What do you expect from Republicans
Those people would sell their own mother if they had to....

And yet the "tolerant" and "caring" libs around here are quietly celebrating the loss of property and livelihoods because one politician was stiffed. There is no more narrow-minded, bigoted and hate-filled being on this planet than a true, blue American liberal. The kind of mean-spirited, disgusting hate that makes Fred Phelps look like Gandhi. Celebrating because hard working people lost the fruits of their labor. I would say I'm shocked, but I'm surrounded by liberals and there are no depths to which they could sink in their narrow-minded bigotry that would surprise me anymore.

The federal government has few things that it is supposed to do... protecting the states is one such thing, something even the most conservative person in this country agrees with (including Perry) and once again, as with Katrina and the BP spill and so many other cases, the federal government failed miserably at it's most important and basic job... protecting it's people. And stupid libs wonder why so many hate the government and don't want to see another nickel thrown it's incompetent way and it's been proven that it doesn't matter who is in charge or what party runs the country, they all suck ass. They can't even get their most basic job right.

[uaarkson]

That post was hilarious, thank you. God damn libs!

[AusHou]

Originally Posted by jtk1519

And yet the "tolerant" and "caring" libs around here are quietly celebrating the loss of property and livelihoods because one politician was stiffed. There is no more narrow-minded, bigoted and hate-filled being on this planet than a true, blue American liberal. The kind of mean-spirited, disgusting hate that makes Fred Phelps look like Gandhi. Celebrating because hard working people lost the fruits of their labor. I would say I'm shocked, but I'm surrounded by liberals and there are no depths to which they could sink in their narrow-minded bigotry that would surprise me anymore.

The federal government has few things that it is supposed to do... protecting the states is one such thing, something even the most conservative person in this country agrees with (including Perry) and once again, as with Katrina and the BP spill and so many other cases, the federal government failed miserably at it's most important and basic job... protecting it's people. And stupid libs wonder why so many hate the government and don't want to see another nickel thrown it's incompetent way and it's been proven that it doesn't matter who is in charge or what party runs the country, they all suck ass. They can't even get their most basic job right.

You probably should do some basic research on why the request was denied. The media have covered it in recent days. There's really nothing incompetent about how the feds have handled it. Katrina...that's another story. I think the point some of us have been making is simply that Perry and his right wing supporters constantly whine about the feds until they need something for themselves. It's a big irony.

[KevinFromTexas]

This thread has turned into a joke.