What we know about King Ranch and the Borrega wildfire spreading near Kingsville

A wildfire broke out at King Ranch on Wednesday night and has overtaken 60,000 acres so far. As of Thursday morning, only 20% of the blaze has been contained and volunteer evacuations are underway. 

No damage to homes has been reported yet, but residents in the area have reported smoke in the air and burnt debris falling from the sky.

Here’s what we know about King Ranch.

What is the historical significance of King Ranch?

Richard King arrived in Texas in 1847 to serve in the Mexican-American War. While transporting merchandise through Texas, King saw the Santa Gertrudis Creek and decided with Texas Ranger and his business partner Captain Gideon K. Lewis to start the ranch there. In 1853, he founded King Ranch with the purchase of the Rincon de Santa Gertrudis land grant.

Lewis died in 1855 and Captain James Walworth came on as a silent partner, allowing King virtually full control over the ranch and its operations. King regularly traveled to Mexico to purchase Longhorn cattle and offer jobs on the ranch to Mexican people seeking jobs.

Read more:Jay Kleberg of Texas’ King Ranch family is running for land commissioner as a Democrat

King Ranch produced a racehorse named Assault who won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and the Belmont in 1946, making it a Triple Crown winner. However, it is primarily a cattle ranch. The first drive of cattle to northern markets occurred in 1869. When King died in 1885, his wife Henrietta and her son-in-law Robert Justus Kleberg Jr. continued to manage the ranch.

In 1940, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recognized the Santa Gertrudis breed as the first beef breed produced in America and the first new breed in 100 years. 

In 1961, King Ranch was designated as a National Historic Landmark. Since then, King Ranch has grown to become the largest ranch in the United States.

Acreage and surrounding area of King Ranch

King Ranch spans 825,000 acres or 1,289 square miles, meaning its total area is larger than the state of Rhode Island. Presently, King Ranch is home to roughly 35,000 cows and 200 quarter horses. 

See photos:Fire spreads through Kingsville

The ranch sits between Corpus Christi, Brownsville, and Kingsville. It exists on four separate divisions of land and extends into portions of six Texas counties, with most of the area landing in Kleberg and Kenedy counties. 

Aside from the Texas acreage, King Ranch also owns and operates farming land in Florida. 

Grace Griffin is a digital producer for the USA TODAY Network. She can be reached at ggriffin@gannett.com or on Twitter @GraceMGriffin.