The historic wildfires that are ravaging the Texas Panhandle are worse than what has been reported. According to Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller, thousands of animals are believed to have died.
"Just my prediction, but it will be 10,000 that will have died or we'll have to euthanise," Miller said to BBC. "It's sad. A lot of those cattle are still alive but the hooves are burned off, the teats on their udders are burned off. It's just a sad, sad situation."
Texas is the nation's largest cattle producer, and over 85% of the state's herd is in the Panhandle. Since Sunday, the most prominent of the wildfires, the Smokehouse Creek Fire in Hutchinson County, is currently only 15% contained and has burned nearly 1.1 million acres.
“These fires not only threaten lives and property but will also have a substantial impact on our agriculture industry...There are millions of cattle out there, with some towns comprising more cattle than people. The losses could be catastrophic for those counties. Farmers and ranchers are losing everything," said Sid Miller, Texas Agricultural Commissioner in a press release.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday the fires have left exceptional damage, saying much of the affected areas are "completely gone" with "nothing left but ashes on the ground."
Luckily, cooler temperatures and calmer winds later this week should help suppress the blazes. But fully containing the fires could take days or weeks.
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