CANADIAN.- The fire burning in the Texas Panhandle is already the largest in the state’s history, covering almost 1,700 square miles (4,400 square kilometers), authorities reported Thursday.
The so-called Smokehouse Creek fire has merged with another fire and is 3% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
Authorities have not explained what caused the fire, which started on Monday and spread at an impressive speed, destroying dozens of homes, although authorities warn that the true extent of the damage is currently unknown.
At least one person, an 83-year-old woman, has died.
Previously, the largest fire in Texas history was the 2006 East Amarillo fire, which burned about 1,400 square miles (3,630 square kilometers) and caused 13 deaths.
Fire growth has been slowed by falling snow and reduced winds and temperatures, but the massive fire remains uncontrolled and threatens more death and destruction.
The fire crossed into areas of neighboring Oklahoma. It was already larger than the state of Rhode Island, and the Texas fire service said the flames were barely contained, but the forecast of snow, rain and temperatures around 4 degrees Celsius (40 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday offered a pause to make progress before temperatures and winds increase again this weekend. Authorities have not identified the cause of the fires, but strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures fueled the fire.
Less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) of snow is expected, but moisture is not the only benefit, said National Weather Service meteorologist Samuel Scoleri.
“This will keep the relative humidity low during the day, and it will definitely help firefighters,” Scoleri said.
Snow and rain are expected to end Thursday afternoon, and dry and windy conditions are expected to resume on Friday, possibly leading to critical fire conditions again on Saturday and Sunday.
So far, only an 83-year-old woman has been confirmed dead, but the flames still threaten a wide area, and authorities have not conducted a rigorous search for victims or counted the numerous homes and other structures damaged or destroyed.
Nimm Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said the weekend weather forecast and “the sheer magnitude and scope” of the fire are the biggest challenges for firefighters.
“I don’t want the community to get a false sense of security that the fires won’t get any bigger,” Kidd said. “It remains a very dynamic situation.”
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Flower Mound Fire Department via AP
The governor, Republican Greg Abbott, issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties. The flames caused the main US facility that dismantles nuclear arsenal to stop operations on Tuesday night, although it had resumed operation on Wednesday.
Hemphill County Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Kendall said the burned land was like “a moonscape… There’s nothing left.”
Kendall said about 40 homes burned around the town of Canadian, but no buildings in the community were lost. He noted that he had also seen “hundreds of dead cattle” in the fields.
The small town of Fritch, north of Amarillo, lost hundreds of homes in a 2014 fire and appeared to have suffered again. Mayor Tom Ray said Wednesday that an estimated 40 to 50 homes were destroyed in the south end of the town of 2,200 people.
Neighbors are likely “unprepared for what they are going to see if they come home,” said Deidra Thomas, a spokeswoman for emergency management in Hutchinson County, in a live message on social media. She compared the damage to a tornado.
The Pantex nuclear weapons plant, northeast of Amarillo, evacuated non-essential personnel Tuesday night as a “precautionary measure,” said Laef Pendergraft, spokesman for the Nuclear Security Administration’s production office at Pantex. Firefighters remained on scene in case of emergency.
In a message posted on social media Wednesday morning, Pantex said the facility was “open for normal day shift operations.”
Source: With information from AP
