Road to recovery

Charred grasslands outside of Canadian, Texas. The small Panhandle town had to be evacuated last week as the Smokehouse Creek Fire rapidly approached. Residents of Canadian lost homes and livestock in the blaze.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is actively documenting agricultural losses caused by recent wildfires in the Texas Panhandle. Their efforts aim to understand and mitigate the extensive damage suffered by the local farming and ranching communities, highlighting the significant impact these fires have had on agriculture in the region

Osmose Utilities Services, contracted by Xcel Energy for safety inspections, declined to testify at a Texas legislative hearing on the Smokehouse Creek fire, the state's largest wildfire. Despite public expectations and a statement of willingness to cooperate, the company's absence puzzled lawmakers investigating the fire, which destroyed over 1 million acres, displaced families, and resulted in fatalities. The committee probing the fire's cause linked to a decayed utility pole, expects to publish its findings soon.