840,000 acres

The spring winds that have been blowing so strongly the past two weeks seem to be dying down a bit. It's a little cooler, a little more humid. This is good news for the firefighters in the TX Panhandle who are still battling parts of Sunday's fires. 840,000 acres burned to date. 2% of the land mass of the state. A burn area larger than Rhode Island.

The vast majority of firefighters battling these blazes are volunteers. Volunteers who saw the homes of those they know burn to the ground. Saw livestock injured and killed by fire. Saw the loss of life that they couldn't prevent. 1900 people were evacuated on Sunday. That doesn't sound like many until you realize that it was entire towns that were being evacuated. Towns whose livelihood is dependent upon the rangelands and ranches that are now absolutely devastated. It will be years before "normal" returns to this area and ranchers are able to use their lands for grazing once again.

Natural disasters are always heartbreaking, no matter where or what kind, but it's even harder when it hits home. And my heart just broke when I heard first heard the short bit on the radio Monday morning. While my hometown wasn't affected by this week's fires in the TX panhandle, these places are still home. Growing up, I knew someone from each of the affected towns. In high school, we played the sports teams from many of these towns, saw them at academic competitions, met in Amarillo at the mall, went to college at Texas Tech. The people affected by the fires could just as easily been my brothers, sister, aunts, uncles or grandparents.

As I've read the Amarillo newspaper each morning, I'm more and more impressed with the strength and character of the citizens of these little towns. There is no finger-pointing at what should have been done or who was in the wrong. And yes, I know it could be coming but it hasn't yet. Perhaps it is because they know it could have been worse. Or that it still might be--sadly, there's plenty more rangeland that is just tinderbox dry. Perhaps it is just because that is how these people are. They don't see the good in pointing fingers. These are salt-of-the-earth people who work hard all week, go to church on Sundays, love their neighbors as themselves. No need to worry about what was, just fix what needs fixing and move on. Help out however you can. Take some food to those in need. Offer your home, your car, some hay, your shoulder to cry on--anything that might help those who are affected heal a little bit.

And in the meantime, those of us who aren't at home can send a little money and offer a few prayers for the families who lost loved ones, for the ranchers who lost so much, for the volunteers to who helping make things right. And for all of us in the parched, dry Southwest, we can pray for rain.