now, but we’ll get there when the time is right.” Fencing proved to be the big-
gest fi nancial loss for the Jacksons. They’ve replaced fences along the highways and some of the pasture fences, but they still lack about 5 miles of crossfencing. “We lost 8 or 9 miles and a great
deal of that was, of course, in the roughest, most limestone rich coun- try on the entire ranch, so they ended up being the most expen- sive fences I’ve ever built,” says Robert Joe. “On top of that, at the time we
needed to rebuild, t-post prices were the highest they’ve ever been. Some of the ranches around us are re- quired to have insurance on their fences as part of their trust struc- ture, but I’ve looked into it and it was just too cost-prohibitive on our older fences that burned. Plus, we just never imagined ever losing that much all at once.” Although hard to quantify, the
emotional toll was far greater than any fi nancial or physical loss suf- fered from the fi re. “Things just look so scorched
and barren. We lost huge oak trees that have been on this ranch my entire life,” Robert Joe says as he refl ects on the aftermath of the fi re. “It wiped out the cedar and we’re grateful for that, but the tree pat- terns and how this country looks is something that I just couldn’t ever have pictured in my mind. I saw things burn that I never thought would have. We have places on the ranch today covered in prickly pear that need to burn, but after what we went through, none of us are willing to light that kind of fi re.”
The aftermath It only took 21 days to forev- er change the environment of the
74 The Cattleman August 2013
The Jackson Hereford family. From left, top are Dena and Robert Joe. From left front are nephew Cash Hecox, and sons Jacob and Tye.
ranch and farmland that has grown and progressed with both time and stewardship over the past 120 years. Today, the Jackson family is still dealing with the outcome of the fi re and doing their best to adapt to what they have now, unsure if it will ever be the way it once was. “Where it rolled through the far
east side of the ranch, we had places covered in cedar. It burned so hot there the roots of grasses burned, leaving the land barren and soil sterile to a point that there is noth- ing left. Other places with thick cedar happened to burn overnight and didn’t get as hot, so they’ve done a little better since. “In some places we’ve held off
for a year before putting cattle back on them. This year we haven’t used some pastures for a few months but will probably have to be off of them for another year giving the grass more time to recover. “We have good grasses in some
places, just not like they used to be. There is more ‘junk’ now than ever before. Most of the burned areas have some annual grasses, but no
perennials. And the grasshoppers are real bad this year so we’ll have to see how that turns out. As for the brush, regrowth has been primarily oak and sumac with some willow baccharis.” Wildlife on the ranch took a big
hit with many of the deer, turkey and other species leaving the ranch. “Most came back fairly quick, just not as many in the hard-burned areas. We had to back off of hunt- ing in some places, and some of our hunters decided not to come back.” Just like the cattle operation, ad-
justing to the regrowth of wildlife habitat has been slow and differ- ent. “We’ve had a bumper crop of broomweed since the fi re, but it’s just not good for anything except protection for the fawns and young turkeys.” The fi re also managed to uncover
an issue of anaplasmosis carriers in the cow herd. A minute parasite, anaplasmosis is found in red blood cells of infected cattle, but can also exist in otherwise healthy cattle, which are classifi ed as carriers. An outbreak of the disease can
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