Dry winds could spread wildfires in Texas this weekend
Wildfires continued to burn out of control in north Texas Friday morning, and officials warned that warm, windy and dry weather was expected to return this weekend that could fan the flames.
The National Weather Service predicted “critical fire conditions” in the region on Saturday and Sunday, and urged residents to refrain from outdoor activities that could cause sparks or flames over the weekend, including Texas Independence Day on Saturday.
a fire department watch was posted for Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening and covered the Texas Panhandle and nearby parts of Oklahoma.
Five fires were still active in the Panhandle Friday morning, police said Texas A&M Forest Service. Three were more than 50 percent contained, but the largest — the Smokehouse Creek Fire, which broke out Monday — was only 15 percent under control as of Friday morning, authorities said. The Smokehouse Creek fire has charred at least 1,075,000 acres of land, making it the largest wildfire in Texas history. But most of the fire zone had some precipitation on Thursday, and the fire wasn’t growing.
The Panhandle is cattle country. and farmers have been able to do little but watch as the grasslands their livestock depend on for food have been burned. Thousands of cattle may have died in the fires or were injured so badly that they had to be killed, authorities said.
As officials continue to focus on containing the fires, final damage estimates have not yet been prepared.
The cause of the Smokehouse Creek fire is not yet known. On Thursday, a utility company, Xcel Energy, said in a filing with the regulator that it had received a letter from a law firm on behalf of property insurers warning that the utility may be liable for damages related to the fire.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott traveled to the Panhandle on Friday for a briefing on the fires and an afternoon news conference.
Mr. Abbott temporary exemptions granted Thursday to three government agencies, allowing them to use all available resources to support communities affected by the fires.
In a speech Thursday at the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, President Biden said said that he had deployed federal resources to help fight the flames in response to requests from Texas officials. He urged residents in the area around the fires to listen to their local officials.
“If disaster strikes, there are no red states or blue states where I come from,” Mr. Biden said. “We stand with everyone affected by these wildfires, and we will continue to help you respond and recover.”
David Goedman reporting contributed.