Several acres have burned in Riviera, Falfurrias, Duval, and more, leaving the grounds scorched. But what does that mean for the wildlife and vegetation?
When wildfires make their way through, animals have to leave their homes behind in the brush, but sometimes it can take a while for them to return.
Professor and Research Scientist of Ranch Life and Wildlife Sandra Rideout-Hanzak maps out some of the animals' movements during this, "They are going to be pushed to the refugia. So there will be little pockets on the inside that didn't burn, and they'll have higher concentrations of wildlife for a little while but also, anything that could run, would've run to the edges and they'll have to be hanging out in those areas that didn't burn for maybe just a few months, until we get that rainfall and those grasses and rainfall come back."
Once the fire is gone, and the damage is done, these animals can typically find food to eat. Unfortunately, though, it's not as easily as before.
Professor and Research Scientist of Wildlife Randy Deyoung commented, "There will be some re-sprouting within a few days to a few weeks. Some of the other plants that do get burned, like cactus, and things like that, it actually singes off the spines and makes it a little bit easier for them to eat."
Experts say animals living in the South Texas brush country are resilient, but it's only the beginning of what could be a long fire season.
Rideout-Hanzak explains how rainfall has been the best solution to the problem in the the past, "The reason why they're bad this year is because last year, we had a dry spring, but once it started raining, we had a whole lot of rain and it rained a bunch in July, it rained a bunch in August. When it rains a bunch down here, what happens is you grow a bunch of grass. Then over winter time, that grass gets cured by the freezes and now it's all just standing fuel. It's not grass anymore, it just fuel waiting for a wildfire."
She, like most of us, really hopes to get that rain soon, "We need rain right now, I mean we need it as soon as possible. Everything is really dry. Until we have rain, we're still in wildfire danger, until we have rain."
They say once the rain comes, the ground would be packed with nutrients and protein which would bring a healthy layer of vegetation.
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