Texas has never seen a fire this large. Here’s what we know.
The Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest ever in Texas, is still largely uncontrolled in the state’s Panhandle.
So far, the fire has scorched more than a million acres, making it one of the most destructive in American history. The fire has destroyed cattle ranches, destroyed homes and killed at least two people. More hot and dry weather over the weekend threatens to worsen conditions.
Here’s what we know so far.
When did it start?
The fire started on Monday and it is not yet clear what caused the fire.
It spread around the town of Canadian, a cattle community of about 2,200 people northeast of Amarillo, near the Oklahoma state line. By Wednesday, the fire had spread across large swaths of ranch land in the Panhandle. By Thursday, it had become the state’s largest ever.
In order to grow so quickly, a number of weather conditions had to match: high temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds.
It was 82 degrees in Amarillo on Monday. According to the National Weather Service, the average daily temperature there in February is 54 degrees.
Where did the fire spread?
The Smokehouse Creek fire is burning in a sparsely populated area of Texas where most of the state’s livestock lives: millions of cows, calves, steers and bulls. The extensive farms are not always easy to reach by road.
Wildfires are nothing new for Panhandle farmers, many of whom know how to convert their pickup trucks into makeshift fire trucks to battle a blaze. But the scale of this fire is unprecedented in Texas.
In addition to the ranchers, residents of the small communities in the landscape, such as Fritch and Canadian, have also seen their homes, cars and churches in ruins.
Two people were killed on Tuesday. Joyce Blankenship, an 83-year-old woman who lived on the outskirts of the town of Stinnett, was killed in her home when flames overtook her property. Cindy Owen, 44, died of burns after flames surrounded her utility vehicle as she drove home to Amarillo from Oklahoma.
Is the fire being controlled?
The Smokehouse Creek fire was 15 percent under control as of Friday morning, authorities said.
The rugged terrain of the Canadian River Valley, where the fire started, has been a major obstacle for firefighters, as fire trucks cannot maneuver over some cliffs, valleys and steep hills in the area.
Some rain on Thursday slowed the growth of the fire. But warm, windy and dry weather was expected to return over the weekend, which could prolong the fire.
The National Weather Service warned of “critical fire conditions” in the region on Saturday – Texas Independence Day – and Sunday, urging residents to avoid outdoor activities that could produce sparks or flames.
a fire department watch was posted for Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening and covered the Texas Panhandle and nearby parts of Oklahoma.
What about the cattle?
The Panhandle is home to about 85 percent of the approximately 12 million cattle in Texas, said state Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. But most of them are concentrated on feedlots and dairy farms, and those activities have been largely unaffected by the fires.
Yet large swaths of the grassland that Texas cattle depend on for food have been reduced to a blackened expanse. Thousands of cattle may have already died or been so injured by the fires that they would have to be killed, Mr. Miller said.
Even the farmers whose livestock survived had to find a place where their herds could eat. Mr. Miller said a rancher he knew had 1,500 head of steers but “no grass and no water” and was in a desperate situation, adding that the rancher may have to move the cattle across state lines.
Is this fire unusual?
Wildfires occur in most of Texas during the summer. But in the Panhandle, fire risk is greatest around March, when temperatures rise, high winds blow across the flat landscape and dry grass can easily catch fire.
Climate change is likely to make fire season start earlier and last longer by increasing the number of days in a year with warm and dry weather conditions that enable wildfires, said John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas State Climatologist and professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas . A&M University.
According to researchers, temperatures in Texas have risen 0.61 degrees per decade since 1975 a 2021 report by the Office of the State Climatologist. Relative humidity in the Panhandle region has also decreased.
Reporting was contributed by Delger Erdenesanaa, Christopher Flavelle, Lucinda Holt And Miglena Sternadori.