Wildfires in Texas have destroyed hundreds of homes, over a million acres of land, and thousands of cattle. Will this affect your beef prices? And if so, how long will it take for the effects to be felt? Glenn speaks with general manager Joe Leathers of the Four Sixes Ranch, which was affected by the fire, about what you should expect. Joe also explains how the ranching community is helping those who have been immediately affected, including ranchers, cowboys, and families, and lays out how you can help as well: “Disaster memories are short,” he tells Glenn. “And when it rains, you’ll get a little green on the ground and people will forget. It’s gonna take YEARS to recover from this."
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: I want to tell you a story of traumatic loss.
Tell you a story of courage, of togetherness, and the spirit of man.
At least two deaths have been confirmed in the Texas panhandle fires now. It's the largest wildfire in state history, with over a million acres burned.
Hundreds have lost their homes. And because rural Texans are twice as likely to forfeit homeowners insurance. The road ahead seems unfathomably difficult.
I want to play a voice of a 3-year-old, Addison. Addison realized, the only home she's ever known is now gone forever.
VOICE: You want your house? We'll get another house, okay.
GLENN: Her dad is Tyler McCain. He was working hard to become the first person in his family to ever pay off his house.
He was close. If you're watching Blaze TV, you can see the picture of what their home looks like right now. The only thing standing in the backyard is the metal swing set.
The catastrophic depths of this particular wildfire go one step further, and it will affect you. Texas leads America, by far, with the most cattle. And according to the Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Sid Miller, 85 percent of the state's cattle population, resides in the panhandle, where this fire happened.
He predicted during an interview with CBS News, that 10,000 cattle, will have died, or will have to be euthanized.
This is too horrific, to even think about. A lot of these cattle are still alive. But hooves have been burned off.
Their tattoos have been burned off. Their udders are burned off, and they have to be put down.
Oh, so while the death toll of human lives lost to these fires is low.
The loss of livelihood, is nothing like we've ever seen before.
Now, Dixon Creek, it's a division of the 6666 Ranch.
It was seen in the hit TV show, Yellowstone. That is just one of the ranches affected.
When the wildfire came near, general manager Joe Leathers said, the cowboys from other divisions, joined forces, with other ranchers.
Firefighters. Volunteers. They all fought the flames, and saved lives.
You probably have never met a real cowboy, but they are amazing people.
They are some of America's toughest. But can these ranchers and the cattle industry, actually, recover from this. Joe Leathers joins me now.
Joe, welcome.
JOE: Yeah. Good morning. How are you?
GLENN: I'm good. Better than you are.
This is just tragic, and I don't think people understand how bad this is, and how much it will affect them.
JOE: Well, Glenn, before we even start this -- this conversation. I want everybody to understand, you know, we're -- we've been business for over 150 years. And we've got three ranches.
We lost 27,000. Or 23,000 acres. In this particular fire.
But with that being said, that's -- we've been extremely blessed.
We've got options. And we didn't completely burn out, fence to fence.
We didn't lose massive amounts of cattle.
And we got a lot that are in far worse shape than us.
You know, I was at Dickson creek yesterday.
And we were moving cattle out of the burned area.
And, you know, as cows, and baby calves. It's calving season.
And that kids can't travel very far.
And a lot of them couldn't outrun the fire. And, you know, we were moving those cattle out to a country that had not burned, and we were able to adjust and send cattle to the feed lot. But long story short, when I went there, I went to the feed lot. Looked at some cattle we had sent up there.
And on my way back, I went through some of the burned area. And I didn't measure it. But for 30 to 40 miles, just through one particular area, it was black as far as I could see. Not a blade of grass.
Any funnies that had wood posts were burned up. And on the ground. Fire had burned up to the edge of homes. And, you know what, we've been through fires before. And I just -- I was telling my wife this morning, that, you know, when you're sitting there, looking at that burned up country. And you lost unaccounted for amount of cattle. And don't know what your future holds, it's a pretty devastating feeling. A long time to recover.
GLENN: I have to tell you, I got a call from my ranch manager yesterday. And he said, because we've had three sets of twins. And when that happens, the mamas can't feed both.
So they're usually -- we lost a calf yesterday. One calf.
I cannot imagine what it feels like to lose the cattle and to see them suffering on the ground -- I mean, this is just a horrific, horrific story.
JOE: It is. And that's not just the first time we've had a fire. This is obviously the largest. When it's over a million acres. And covers 2,000 square miles.
You're talking huge.
The Texas panhandle has had fires in the past. I've been through many of them. Several of them, in 25 years, at the ranch.
But it takes a toll on you. And the recovery.
And to watch -- to find kids or cows that are burned. And some of them have died. Well, it's -- it is heartbreaking. And then, you know, you find some that burn. And then you have to make the determination. Are they going to recover? Or are you going to have to put them down?
So that adds a whole 'nother emotional level to it.
GLENN: Yeah. Somebody had told me, they had seen a video, where someone was driving 60 miles an hour, and they could not outrun the fire at some point. Is that true?
JOE: Well, I don't know whether that story is true. But I can tell you this, I know from experience.
It can cover, with 60 miles an hour gusts. Anything gusting over 40 miles an hour. That -- it can -- it can cover 20,000 acres. Burn over 20,000 acres, in 30 minutes or less.
GLENN: Wow.
JOE: You know, unless you have some obstacle to slow it down. You know, a four-lane highway won't slow it down. It will jump the highways. And you can't -- firefighters can't fight something that's moving that fast.
You have to -- you've got to work from the sides. And you have to wait until the wetlands. There's nothing you can do to stop it.
GLENN: So you have -- the big impact of this fire is, you don't have -- you don't have any grass to feed your animals.
How can people -- I think there's like a hay hotline. This happens from time to time, where people who are growing hay and alfalfa, they ship it down to you. Is there anything organized on that yet?
JOE: Absolutely. Go to Texas Southwest Cattle Ranchers. TSCRA.org.
And they will -- on that website, there are places that you can spend hay, and drop hay.
And that way, the ranchers, in need, they will make sure it gets to the ones that need it.
And I'm going to tell you, they need hay. There are folks out there, that lost their homes.
They need home supplies. Fencing material. With 2,000 square miles, that's burned up. I don't know how many -- how many hundreds or thousands of miles there is of fence that has burned up, that's on the ground.
So those types of things, those are good things to take material to. Donations to.
Star fund. The state of Texas has a star fund. That's been set up. You can give financially.
And I have to share it with you, Glenn. I don't know how much time we have. But in 2010, we drafted out in Texas. You probably remember it.
STU: Yeah. I do.
GLENN: And we moved a lot of cattle.
The ranch moved a lot of cattle up north. What we discovered, the ranching community. You know, we talk about our neighbors across the fence.
But the ranching communities is the neighborhood from the Gulf Coast all the way to the Canadian border.
And I've had people that I've run cattle up north. Some of those states call me and say, we've got hay. Where does it need to go?
So we've been getting hay from Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Not to the ranch, but to these locations.
And, you know, a big deal now is -- you can get people to donate to hay, but they don't have any way to get it to Texas. And sometimes you don't have a way to get it from the centers where you bring the hay to. To get it distributed to the people in need.
So there's an opportunity there for truckers.
GLENN: Well, there's a lot in common with truckers and cowboys.
JOE: There is. But then the truckers have to pay bills too. They're willing to donate their time and their rigs, but it costs money.
So that's another way too, to give. And, I mean -- people's memories are sort.
Disaster memories are short.
And when it rains, you will get a little green on the ground. And people will forget.
It will take years for people to recover from this.
GLENN: So we will not see a price increase. I hate to bring it to this. We won't see a price increase, or we shouldn't.
Until next year, when everything is sold at auction. All these babies that are born right now. Are sold at auction.
What's the impact on the ability to buy meat in America.
JOE: None. You're not going to see any -- any immediate change, in -- in prices at the grocery store. You're not going to see a shortage of beef.
Here's the reality. Here's the reality.
The beef industry is -- is huge. It's a national industry.
And the -- the amount of cattle, even though it's very devastating to the individuals who lost the ranches. Who lost their homes. Who lost their livelihoods, who lost all this cattle.
That number that we have lost is a minute amount when you look at the overall numbers of cattle in the United States.
And I don't -- I don't foresee seeing a major increase in prices at the grocery store.
GLENN: Good.
Well, I -- I can't thank you enough for taking your time to share the story with us, Joe.
If you don't mind, I would like someone from my charitable arm, Mercury One, to reach out to see if we can help, for some of the cost for the hay or the truckers, or even help people rebuild their lives.
So if you don't mind, someone from Mercury One will be reaching out to you today.
JOE: Sure. They can reach out to me, but they can also go to the Star Fund, Texas Department of Agriculture website.
And that is a good, legitimate place to give.
And they will get it out to -- it's not the -- it's not statement.
It's individual money like the folks you're talking about.
GLENN: Okay.
JOE: And they will get it to the people that need it. As bad as they say it, there are crooks out there, that try to set up places. Where they can receive funds.
GLENN: Sure.
JOE: But just make sure you send it to a legitimate --
GLENN: Well, if you say the Texas agriculture dot.gov is good, I just don't want 30 cents or 40 cents of my dollar going to the state, and only 60 cents going back to you guys. But if you say that's good, that's good.
JOE: The star fund is a legitimate spot to give it. And it's not going to end up in some other state coffers. It will end up in the producer's hands, if needed.
GLENN: Okay. Thank you so much, Joe. God bless.
JOE: Yeah. Thank you all. Keep praying.
GLENN: You bet. The Star Fund. Also, you can go to Texas and Southwestern Cattle Ranchers Association. That's TSCRA.org.
