Rock House Fire - Fort Davis (Marfa: houses, land, snakes)

[catman]

Can anyone tell me how damage was done to Fort Davis itself by the recent big fire which came from the Marfa area and ended up burning 314,000+ acres (490 square miles)? I love the place and would like to visit it again.

I read that the fire moved that 21 miles from Marfa to Ft Davis in 30 minutes!

[CptnRn]

A few park rangers houses were burned down.

State parks wildfire damage tallied | KXAN.com

At Davis Mountains State Park, the prognosis is better.
"The fire got right up to the administrative buildings and the Indian Lodge , which is one of our premiere facilities out there in Fort Davis," Boruff said. "The fire got literally within feet of those facilities before it was extinguished. So in that regard, we dodged a bullet out there.
"Ultimately, it was about 350,000 acres of land that burned in west Texas. The state park became the central hub for that firefighting effort. At one point, we were hosting 500 firefighters from agencies all across the state and organizations that came from out of state to help us fight the fire," he said. "So it really served a purpose other than what it normally does but we're back to business as usual now."
Of course, there was a toll on wildlife in the parks.
"Our biologists have found some deer and some antelope that were lost in the fires," said department executive director Carter Smith. "Certainly, we've found evidence of snakes and tortoises and some smaller mammals that were not able to escape the fires' impacts.
But those losses were isolated and most of the wildlife population was able to escape the flames and smoke.

Call them if you need to know more. TPWD: Davis Mountains State Park

[catman]

Yes, I've read most of that after searching for it (thanks anyway). But I haven't been able to find anything about the town of Fort Davis itself.

[die Eichkatze]

I was out in that area a few weeks ago...the town is fine. It skirted the south and east sides of town. The park is fine, mountains on the fort Davis side were burnt but the area around the main road was fine. Almost all the trees out to the west by the observatory were fine, looked like they were able to "back burn" that area with a low heat fire to help stop the fire, and also saved the trees. North of town was extensively burnt, but that area is mainly grass and yuccas, so once it rains, it will be better than before. Didn't go on the road between fort Davis and alpine, but that area looked bad from afar...I think that is where most of the house loss occured. The main part of town looked like it has for as long as I can remember....

[catman]

I'm glad the town is okay, but it's sad that a fire can get out of control so easily. I heard that 65-mph winds were pushing the fire at about 40 mph from Marfa to Fort Davis. That would be hard to defend against.

[LilyLady]

Originally Posted by catman

I'm glad the town is okay, but it's sad that a fire can get out of control so easily. I heard that 65-mph winds were pushing the fire at about 40 mph from Marfa to Fort Davis. That would be hard to defend against.

Catman, I sent you a DM with additional info.