Ironically, Bastrop County now looks a bit like Iraq, because it burned down a couple years ago.My grandparents moved from Bastrop County, Texas to Claunch NM when they were kids. Their parents were going to be ranchers. My great grandfather had 400 acres of grazing land... and then he didn't.
Nothing ironic about that. "Burning down" is the way the southwest changes ecosystems. Forest Service has publicly stated that the forests of Arizona and New Mexico are busily switching from "Evergreen" to "Deciduous" through a process of firestorm and drought. Apparently they all were 600 years ago, and shall be again. My home town nearly burned down in 1980, having not seen a forest fire in 100 years. Then it did burn down in 2000, and nearly burned down again in 2011.