Texas Panhandle ranchers face losses and grim task of removing dead cattle killed by wildfires

By SEAN MURPHY and JIM VERTUNO
Associated Press

SKELLYTOWN, Texas (AP) — Ranchers in the fire-scarred Texas Panhandle are facing a grim task of disposing possibly thousands of dead cattle killed by smoke and flames. Officials have estimated this week’s fires have killed thousands of cattle. For some ranches, the impact could be severe, though the effect on consumer beef prices is expected to be minimal. At the X-Cross-X ranch near Skellytown, workers on Friday used a bulldozer to move dozens of cattle corpses. Each is worth up to $3,000. And ranchers face other losses such as burned out barns, feed supplies, fences and vast stretches of scorched grass surviving cattle need to eat.