Here are some photos of a ranch fire that started on my Mom and step Dads ranch. I live in Lubbock, Tx and had gone down there for the weekend. They live in Justiceburg, Tx and their ranch is the land around Lake Alan Henry. This fire started shortly after we had left to eat. When we came back from having burgers we saw huge plumes of smoke and couldn't tell where the fire was until we got really close. It turns out that the fire was heading for their home. Fortunately some very helpful volunteer firefighters were able to get the fire under control about 3/4 a mile away from their home. I just wanted to share these and showcase how dry it is in Texas right now.


This is my first ever panorama photo. It shows the constrast between burned land and not burned land.


























































This used to be a cactus.

















These cactus were puffed up from being "boiled" in the heat I guess.








These show you how dry it has been out here.











There are a few more on my flickr if you want to see them. We need some rain!

Thanks for looking!

[Bob Harris]

thanks for sharing this series, those wildfires are just terrible and not only the land is scorched but the loss of life is so sad. Seeing all that water going down the Mississippi and a drought in Texas doesn't seem fair, does it. Bob

[sealonsf]

I've heard about these fires - so sad. I grew up about 65 miles southwest of Lubbock. You have some fascinating photos here. Thanks for posting them.

[Deadvacahead]

Thanks for the comments! These fires are getting crazy... they have had several in the area... this is just the first time I've had the opportunity to shoot one. That same day they had another fire somewhere close to Post. It started shortly after this one had. Some of the local law enforcement think someone is starting the fires as hard as that is to believe. One of the sheriffs department guys was chasing a guy in a black pickup and said he saw him throwing things on fire out of his window while running from him. He got away so everybody is on the look out for black trucks when these fires spark up. If I get the opportunity I'm going to photograph some of the other areas that have burned and are starting to grow back. I hope it makes an interesting subject to see the burned land with new life popping through.