Historic Texas wildfire consumes over 500,000 acres as blaze rages on
The #Smokehouse #Creek fire, the second largest wildfire in Texas to date, has consumed more than 500,000 acres in Texas’s Panhandle area since it ignited on Monday.
The fire is currently at 0% containment, with several Texas counties still evacuated amid growing flames.
The Smokehouse Creek fire began at 40,000 acres on Tuesday, quickly swelling by Wednesday morning, CNN reported. The fire has burned through an area more than half the size of Rhode Island, CNN further reported.
The fire has largely spread given unseasonably warm temperatures and strong wind, propelling flames through dry grassy areas.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered for several Texas counties on Tuesday afternoon, as Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration.
Some counties have had their evacuation orderers lifted as of early Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service in Amarillo, Texas, announced on X, formerly known as Twitter.
As of Wednesday morning, Texas officials are still determining the extent of damage as firefighters work to contain active flames. More than 4,000 homes in Texas are also without power as of Wednesday morning, poweroutage.us reported.
#wildfire #climatechange
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/28/texas-wildfire-smokehouse-creek-fire?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other