The Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas Panhandle enhanced post-fire aeolian erosion through thermal degradation of clay minerals

Authors: BHATTACHAN, ABINASH - Texas Tech University; SEGVIC, BANIMIR - Texas Tech University; FENTON, ASHTEN - Texas Tech University; YOUNG, RILEY - Texas Tech University; MORGAN, BETHANY - Texas Tech University; BOWEN, ROCCO - Texas Tech University; DOYLE, EMILY - Texas Tech University; Stout, John; Van Pelt, Robert

Submitted to: Journal of Geophysical Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/24/2026
Publication Date: 7/8/2026
Citation: Bhattachan, A., Segvic, B., Fenton, A., Young, R., Morgan, B., Bowen, R., Doyle, E., Stout, J.E., Van Pelt, R.S. 2026. The Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas Panhandle enhanced post-fire aeolian erosion through thermal degradation of clay minerals. Journal of Geophysical Research. 131:7. https://doi.org/10.1029/2026JF009174.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2026JF009174

Interpretive Summary: Wildfires increase wind erosion rates due to a loss of vegetation that would normally protect the soil surface. Wildfires can also weaken soil surfaces by damaging clay minerals that would normally bind soil particles. In this study, we examined how these processes contributed to wind erosion following the 2024 Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas Panhandle, which remains the largest wildfire on record in Texas. We monitored wind erosion for eight months after the fire at five sites with different grazing histories and analyzed the changes in soil properties. Wind erosion rates were relatively high immediately after the fire but declined over time as vegetation recovered. Sites that had been grazed by cattle prior to the fire recovered more slowly and had large gaps of bare soil between individual plants. Laboratory analyses of topsoil showed that the heat of the wildfire altered clay minerals compared to the unaffected subsurface soil layer. The preferential removal of clay minerals immediately after the wildfire hampered the recovery and thereby reduced the economic viability of these rangelands.

Technical Abstract: Aeolian activity tends to peak immediately following a wildfire in arid and semi-arid regions due to vegetative cover loss and surface destabilization. In addition to reduced surface roughness, wildfire-induces thermal degradation of clay minerals that may further enhance post-fire wind erosion by weakening interparticle binding; however, the magnitude and timing of this process is unknown. To this end, we present a quantitative assessment of preferential aeolian removal of clay minerals immediately following the 2024 Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas Panhandle. Sediment transport was monitored for up to eight months post fire at five sites with contrasting land-use histories. Wind erosion rates were highest immediately after the fire and declined as vegetation recovered, however, sites with a history of grazing retained larger canopy gaps and elevated sediment fluxes. Mineralogical analyses indicate that 32 – 96% of the illite-smectite present in the burned topsoil was removed relative to subsurface unaffected horizons, including the reduction of clay fraction cation exchange capacity. Preferential removal of clay minerals was observed from the analysis of the eroded sediments collected within the first two months after the fire, indicating rapid aeolian removal of thermally altered clay minerals. These results demonstrate that wildfire-induced degradation of clay minerals substantially contributes to enhanced wind erosion during the immediate post-fire period and land-use history influences the magnitude and duration of this response.