After a little over three weeks of blazing, the Ross Fire, which at its peak was recorded to have raged across about 90,400 acres of North Texas, is .
Officials are still assessing the full extent of the fire鈥檚 damage, but say the blaze could have varying effects on wildlife and may negatively impact water supplies for years to come.
While wildfires can temporarily displace animals, periodic blazes can help maintain a diverse ecosystem, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department senior wildlife biologist Jesse Oetgen said.
However, water supplies are compromised following a fire鈥檚 containment, risking contamination and safety risks to the public, University of Texas at Arlington civil engineering professor Adnan Rajib told the Fort Worth Report.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a cascading effect,鈥� Rajib said.
The Ross Fire broke out on Aug. 24 in Palo Pinto County when it was first reported to have burned 80 acres.
The wildfire to burn thousands of acres. It spread north into Jack County just as North Texas has gone nearly two months and has seen , making this one of the region鈥檚 hottest summers on record.
The fire prompted Palo Pinto County Judge Shane Long to , citing the fire鈥檚 impact on the public, homes and utilities alongside other safety risks.
The fire, which officials updated to ultimately burning some 89,989 acres, predominantly affected land in Palo Pinto County.
In a , Long described the Ross Fire as unique, emphasizing how quickly the blaze grew.
The Ross Fire is North Texas鈥� in the state鈥檚 recorded history.
鈥淔ifty-nine years I鈥檝e been here in this county and so we鈥檝e had major fires. I鈥檝e lived here my whole life,鈥� Long said. 鈥淭his has definitely been a different challenge with how fast this was moving.鈥�
Palo Pinto wildlife resilient
Palo Pinto County鈥檚 wildlife and vegetation is resilient, Oetgen said.
Historically, the county鈥檚 landscape has been naturally maintained through periodic wildfires, which leads to a 鈥渉ealthy and diverse鈥� ecosystem, Oetgen said. By the spring, Palo Pinto can expect a flush of wildflowers, attracting pollinators that then support the food chain for larger animals.
鈥淲e can really expect to see good things come off of what may appear in the short term as devastation,鈥� Oetgen said.
The area, about 70 miles west of Fort Worth, is largely home to white-tailed deer, wild turkey, mourning doves, a fluctuation of white quail and flocks of grassland and woodland songbirds.
Pocking the Ross Fire鈥檚 90,000 acre scar, there are plenty of unburned pockets, creating what Oetgen referred to as a 鈥渉abitat mosaic.鈥�
鈥淭here are areas where it may burn up a hillside and have, you know, charred black juniper trees, for example, and then on either side of it is still green,鈥� Oetgen said.
In those untouched areas, plenty of habitats remain intact. As for wildlife inhabiting land consumed by the fire, smaller and more mobile animals are more likely to burrow or take flight, avoiding displacement.
鈥淚f we zoom into a very small acreage, we would maybe assess that there was some displacement as animals moved into areas nearby that were unburned,鈥� Oetgen said. 鈥淏ut if we zoom out to a larger ecosystem-type approach, the displacement becomes kind of a nonissue. So it just really kind of depends upon the scale that you鈥檙e looking at it.鈥�
Displaced populations, depending on the species, can return to the affected land as early as weeks later or as late as months down the line, Oetgen said.
Burned areas typically recover when rainfall and cooler temperatures enter the affected region, attracting more wildlife than before.
Oetgen cited the in Palo Pinto County as an example of an impacted habitat that saw more animal activity after its recovery.
State wildlife officials observed a reduced number of deer in the first year following the fire, but the species population exceeded previous estimates, Oetgen explained.
鈥淲ithin the next six to 18 months, we鈥檒l see that habitat return to probably better conditions and better habitat than it was before,鈥� he said.
Residents face water quality, safety risks ahead
What happens after a wildfire is often more critical to the public than the natural disaster itself, said Rajib, who studies wildfires鈥� impact on freshwater supplies.
A fire鈥檚 impact on water quality and supplies extends to multiple years, the academic said. That鈥檚 because fires leave behind burned, hydrophobic soil, preventing those layers from absorbing water.
Runoff traveling down impacted soil increases the risk of flash flooding and , a fast moving flow of sediment.
鈥淭hat flow can be really dramatic and dangerous,鈥� Rajib said.
Communities downstream of the fire also face risks when water runs through hydrophobic soil, as streams are more likely to pick up high-nitrogen material stemming from local agricultural activity and manure and carry the chemicals into natural streams and lakes.
High nitrogen levels deplete water of oxygen, allowing for more bacteria and contaminants to form, Rajib explained. Water treatment plants operate with customized procedures to remove contaminants and sediment but excessive levels may not be treatable, he said.
This becomes a matter of a lack of resources and water treatment technologies, particularly for smaller towns and rural communities, Rajib added.
鈥淚f we drink that water or use that water, we may be under risk,鈥� Rajib said.
A fire can be more or less impactful on water sources depending on terrain, Rajib said. His research includes the state鈥檚 largest fire, the , which burned over a million acres in the Panhandle.
Although smaller in size than that disaster, the Ross Fire puts Palo Pinto County at a disproportionate risk due to its rocky terrain and the various freshwater sources, which allow contaminants to more easily intercept water supplies, Rajib said.
鈥淚mpact on surface water is immediate, especially in the context of Texas, where you know the weather patterns are very much abnormal and erratic,鈥� he said.
In events such as these, Rajib says it鈥檚 important for small communities to call on legislators to fund equipment and look to academics and industry representatives for solutions.
鈥淭here is a need to couple the fire鈥� with impacts on water supplies, Rajib said.
Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.
The Report鈥檚 environment coverage is supported by the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy .
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