From the distance we had seen a big smoke pall near Hennessey, on the way toward some storms we intended to investigate regardless. That smoke turned out to emanate not just from trash or grass–the latter already having incinerated in the foreground–but grove of dry, oily cedars, other brush, and an outbuilding or two on a farmstead. All of that was going up in tall, intense flames that seemed disturbingly close to an apparently unoccupied and perhaps abandoned farmhouse (unseen to the right). Deepening darkness from the approaching squall line added to the eerie character of the scene. The intensifying line of storms itself, which was certain to douse the flames, turned out to be rather high-based and outflow dominant. Though appreciated and briefly photogenic, it wasn’t quite as interesting on this storm-observing excursion as the fire we hadn’t set out to chase. On the way back, we passed by the scene again, seeing numerous Swainson’s hawks parked in the charred field in hopes of catching flushed rodents. They know a potential food source when they see one, and accumulated accordingly, from many miles around the smoke column.
4 W Hennessey OK (18 Apr 9) Looking N
36.1083, -97.9615