The office was already closed when Katie Rochelle saw that the fire was getting close. The fire had also reached the repair shop. A canoe rental business that went back five generations, starting with her great-grandparents in 1969, was turned into ashes in just a few hours. She said, “It just took off way too fast.” “The wind was going in a tornado motion.”
The wind was what made the Ross Fire unique. Not just another fire during the dry season, but a quick, almost disorienting event that caught even people who live in the area a few times off guard. The fire started early Monday afternoon in north central Texas. In less than a day, it burned through more than 78 square miles of ranchland in Palo Pinto and nearby counties, fed by the extreme heat and low humidity. It went over streams. It crossed rivers. It didn’t stop at all.
What Fire Chief Danny Watkins of Palo Pinto County’s emergency services district said on Tuesday nite was very clear: “We’ve tried everything, and it’s not working much.” That’s not something fire chiefs say all the time. By the time nite fell, containment had dropped to just 8%. Birds that drop water were sent to protect buildings near the small town of Palo Pinto, where the fire seemed so close that you could touch it.
The Palo Pinto County wildfire also reached Worth Ranch, a camp for kids that was on the southern edge of the fire. On Tuesday, several buildings there caught fire. The Longhorn Council of Scouting America owns the land. Luckily, there were no campers there, and everyone made it out safely. But there was a lot of damage, and it seems like even that result, which was more like a close call, could have been very different if the timing had been a little off.
Governor Greg Abbott of Texas said that FEMA would be sending help, and he told people in Texas to stay away from anything that could start a new fire. Based on the facts, it was a fair request. Crews were already dealing with four more wildfires in counties close by. Things aren’t much better in the South and West as a whole. The National Interagency Fire Center said there were twelve new big fires just on Sunday. More than 50,000 wildfires have broken out across the country so far this year. This is the most for this time of year in ten years.
Outside of Graford, Rochelle’s husband fought all nite to keep their house safe. He’s a firefighter in the area. He got it done. She still doesn’t know how to explain it. “I don’t know how our house survived,” she replied. “Now we’re waiting and praying.” That sentence is quietly heartbreaking—the firefighter’s family is left with no choice but to hope. The old family home on the property, which was built about 100 years ago, did not make it. There were also some busses and trailers from the company that didn’t. Somehow, the canoes made it through.
In the middle of all the chaos, her dad, Buddy Rochelle, just stood there and said, “I don’t know what we’re going to do now.” There is no simple answer to this question. As the temperature continued to rise, emergency workers thought the fire would keep spreading. Animals that were being evacuated were given shelter in the barns of ranchers and livestock commissions. Schools didn’t hold classes. There are now evacuation centers all over the area.
It’s still not clear how many buildings have been destroyed in total. Officials said at least five were destroyed in Palo Pinto County, but the real number is likely to go up as more crews get to the burned areas. It’s clear that this fire spread faster than the systems that were meant to stop it. People lose everything in the time difference between how fast a wildfire can spread and how fast help can arrive.
