Containment of deadly Texas wildfire grows as firefighters face worsening weather this weekend

Firefighters have made some progress containing the Smokehouse Creek wildfire in the Texas Panhandle, but dangerous weather that could lead to rapidly spreading blazes is forecast to return this weekend.

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Dangerous fire weather conditions return to Texas Panhandle amid historic wildfires

After getting a couple inches of snow Thursday allowing for some progress on the deadly Smokehouse Creek fire in Texas, firefighters will soon face a return of critical fire weather conditions over the weekend.

STINNETT, Texas – After a welcome snowfall gave firefighters a brief break from hot and dry conditions while fighting the largest wildfire in Texas history, crews are now facing a return to dangerous fire weather over the weekend.

The deadly Smokehouse Creek wildfire has exploded to more than 1 million acres of land in just four days in the Texas Panhandle. At least one person has died and dozens of structures have been damaged or destroyed.

A weak area of low pressure swung through the Texas wildfire zones Thursday and produced a light coating of snow, but now temperatures are rising, humidity is dropping, and winds are increasing, again.

Watch: Texas firefighters drive through burning embers and blackout smoke

The Fort Worth Fire Department was deployed to the Smokehouse Creek Fire, second-largest in the history of the state. This crew had to drive through burning embers and blackout smoke to get past a point where the fire was trying to jump the highway.

Winds on Saturday are expected to gust up to 40 mph and then will increase slightly on Sunday with gusts up to 50 mph, according to the FOX Forecast Center. Humidity levels may drop to 5-10%. Little, if any, rain is forecast over the next seven days.

“It’s going to be a very active weekend,” Texas Department of Emergency Management Director Nim Kidd said.

Fire Weather Warnings stretch from the eastern Rockies, through the Plains and include areas recently devastated by fires.

Over 1.25 million acres charred by several Texas wildfires

Five major wildfires in the Texas Panhandle have consumed over 1.25 million acres, prompting evacuations, road closures and emergency declarations. The largest fire burning remains the Smokehouse Creek Fire north of Stinnett, at a Texas record 1.078 million acres and only 15% containment.

The status of wildfires in the Texas Panhandle as of March 1, 2024.

(FOX Weather)

That fire claimed a life in Hutchinson County north of Amarillo, and dozens of structures were damaged after flames erupted Monday.

The fire exploded in size midweek, growing from 300,000 acres to 1.075 million acres in two days as it raced east. While some of that fire has now scorched land in Oklahoma, the 1.05 million acres burned in Texas is now the largest wildfire in state history. That includes what was known as the 687Reamer Fire, which has been absorbed by Smokehouse Creek.

The Smokehouse Creek fire is just one of several that are burning across the region. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday that early estimates show as many as 500 structures have been destroyed. At least five firefighters have been injured while battling the blazes, according to Kidd.

Kidd said cause and origin investigations are underway.

Windy Deuce Fire devastates town of Fritch, Texas

Farther west, the Windy Deuce Fire has burned 142,000 acres across Moore, Potter and Carson counties, leading to the evacuation of several communities. The fire has consumed about half the town of Fritch and remains only 50% contained.

“Well, our house is still standing,” homeowner Lee Quesada said during a video tour of his scorched neighborhood. “But then, if you look over on the other side of that tree, which is on fire, two structures, neighbors, two houses down across the street on fire.”

Texas resident surveys scorched town after wildfire tears through

A local in Fritch, Texas, captured video of extensive damage seen in the town after wildfires ripped through parts of the state’s panhandle on Tuesday.

And to the south and east of the massive Smokehouse Creek Fire, the Grape Vine Creek Fire is 60% contained after burning 30,000 acres.

The fires are not only sending residents scrambling for safety but also sending thick plumes of smoke across the Texas Panhandle and into the Plains.

Smoke forecast for Friday March 1, 2024.

(FOX Weather)

Wind forecasts show that smoke will continue to push north across the Oklahoma Panhandle through Kansas and Nebraska into Minnesota and western Wisconsin, on Friday, though not as thick as Thursday.

Fire scorches weather station as thermometer reads 126 degrees

The fire spread into the town of Canadian, Texas, on Tuesday, where flames burned through an automated weather station Tuesday afternoon.

According to the West Texas Mesonet, which operates the station, a temperature as high as 126 degrees was recorded at the site before it was destroyed.

This graphic shows the largest wildfires in Texas history.

(FOX Weather)

Operations at a nuclear weapons facility outside of Amarillo were halted after flames got dangerously close to the property. Late Tuesday, Pantex said all the facility’s employees were accounted for, and firefighters were in structure protection mode, but the property remains secure.

Snowfall stalls growth of Panhandle wildfire after more than 1 million acres scorched

The Smokehouse Creek fire merged with another fire Thursday but growth stalled overnight due to precipitation, wildfire is 5% contained Friday

By Sean Murphy, Jim Vertuno | The Associated Press and NBCDFW Staff • Published February 29, 2024 • Updated on March 1, 2024 at 2:12 pm

What to know about Texas wildfires

• The Smokehouse Creek fire ignited in the Panhandle on Monday in rough terrain and unfavorable weather conditions and spread with alarming speed.
• The wildfire is the largest in the state’s history, burning over 1 million acres.
• Two deaths have been reported; Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration on Tuesday.

A dusting of snow covered a desolate landscape of scorched prairie, dead cattle and burned-out homes in the Texas Panhandle on Thursday, giving firefighters brief relief in their desperate efforts to corral a blaze that has grown into the largest in state history.

The Smokehouse Creek fire has grown to nearly 1,700 square miles (1,075,000 acres). It merged with another fire Thursday and was 5% contained on Friday morning, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. Because precipitation fell on most of the area Thursday, the fire did not grow overnight. The forest service said crews will focus on the northern edge of the fire and areas around structures on Friday.

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Gray skies loomed over huge scars of blackened earth in a rural area dotted with scrub brush, ranchland, rocky canyons and oil rigs on Thursday. In Stinnett, a town of about 1,600, someone propped up an American flag outside of a destroyed home.

Dylan Phillips, 24, said he hardly recognized his Stinnett neighborhood, which was littered with melted street signs and the charred frames of cars and trucks. His family’s home survived, but at least half a dozen others were smoking rubble.

“It was brutal,” Phillips said. “The street lights were out. It was nothing but embers and flames.”

The Smokehouse Creek fire’s explosive growth slowed Thursday as snow fell and winds and temperatures dipped, but it was still untamed and threatening. It is the largest of several major fires burning in the rural Panhandle section of the state. It has also crossed into Oklahoma.

Firefighter Lee Jones was helping douse the smoldering wreckage of homes in Stinnett to keep them from reigniting when temperatures and winds increase Friday and into the weekend.

A burned car rests near the charred remains of a home outside of Canadian, Texas, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, after a wildfire passed. A fast-moving wildfire burning through the Texas Panhandle grew into the second-largest blaze in state history Wednesday, forcing evacuations and triggering power outages as firefighters struggled to contain the widening flames.

“The snow helps,” said Jones, who was among a dozen firefighters called in from Lubbock to help. “We’re just hitting all the hot spots around town, the houses that have already burned.”

Authorities have not said what ignited the fires, but strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures fed the blazes.

“The rain and the snow is beneficial right now, we’re using it to our advantage,” Texas A&M Forest Service spokesman Juan Rodriguez said of the Smokehouse Creek fire. “When the fire isn’t blowing up and moving very fast, firefighters are able to actually catch up and get to those parts of the fire.”

Authorities said 1,640 square miles (4,248 square kilometers) of the fire were on the Texas side of the border. Previously, the largest fire in recorded state history was the 2006 East Amarillo Complex fire, which burned about 1,400 square miles (3,630 square kilometers) and resulted in 13 deaths.

An 83-year-old woman was the only confirmed death so far this week. But with flames still menacing a wide area, authorities have yet to conduct a thorough search for victims or tally the numerous homes and other structures damaged or destroyed.

Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said the weekend forecast and “sheer size and scope” of the blaze are the biggest challenges for firefighters.

“I don’t want the community there to feel a false sense of security that all these fires will not grow anymore,” Kidd said. “This is still a very dynamic situation.”

The woman who died was identified by family members as Joyce Blankenship, a former substitute teacher. Her grandson, Lee Quesada, said he had posted in a community forum asking if anyone could try and locate her. Quesada said deputies told his uncle on Wednesday that they had found Blankenship’s remains in her burned home.

Firefighters work through the rubble of burned homes from the Smokehouse Creek fire in Stinnett, Texas on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. A wildfire spreading across the Texas Panhandle became the largest in state history Thursday, as a dusting of snow-covered scorched prairie, dead cattle and burned-out homes and gave firefighters a brief window of relief in desperate efforts to corral the blaze.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties. The encroaching flames caused the main facility that disassembles America’s nuclear arsenal to pause operations Tuesday night, but it was open for normal work Wednesday.

The small town of Fritch, north of Amarillo, lost hundreds of homes in a 2014 fire and appeared to be hit hard again. Mayor Tom Ray said Wednesday that an estimated 40-50 homes were destroyed on the southern edge of the town of 2,200.

Hemphill County Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Kendall said about 40 homes were burned near the town of Canadian, and described the charred terrain as being “like a moonscape. … It’s just all gone.”

Kendall also reported seeing “hundreds of cattle just dead, laying in the fields.”

Homes destroyed by the Smokehouse Creek Fire are seen Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Canadian, Texas.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller estimated the number of cattle killed in the fires to be in the thousands, with more likely to come.

“There’ll be cattle that we’ll have to euthanize,” Miller said. “They’ll have burned hooves, burned udders.”

Miller said individual ranchers could suffer devastating losses, but predicted the overall impact on the Texas cattle industry would be minimal. Cattle raised in the Panhandle are largely “range cattle,” not feeder cattle that are sold to feed lots and eventually make their way to the kitchen table for consumption, he said.

Miller said any impact on the price of beef for consumers would be minimal, and at least a year away from being felt.

LARGEST WILDFIRES IN TEXAS HISTORY

• Smokehouse Creek of 2024, burning 1,075,000+ acres (active fire)
• East Amarillo Complex of 2006, burning 907,245 acres
• Big Country of 1998, burning 366,000 acres
• Perryton of 2017, burning 318,156 acres

Texas battles historic wildfires as snow covers scorched land in the Panhandle

Two people have now died in the wildfires burning in the Texas Panhandle. One of the fires is officially the largest in state history with more than a million acres of land burned. FOX 4’s Paige Ellenberger has the latest.

STINNETT, Texas – A dusting of snow covered a desolate landscape of scorched prairie, dead cattle and burned out homes in the Texas Panhandle on Thursday, giving firefighters brief relief in their desperate efforts to corral a blaze that has grown into the largest in state history.

The Smokehouse Creek fire grew to nearly 1,700 square miles (4,400 square kilometers). It merged with another fire and is just 3% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

TEXAS, UNITED STATES – FEBRUARY 28: Smoke rises on the roadway in Hutchinson County after the Juliet Pass fire broke out in Armstrong County, Texas, United States on February 28, 2024. (Photo by Texas A&M Forest Service/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Gray skies loomed over huge scars of blackened earth in a rural area dotted with scrub brush, ranchland, rocky canyons and oil rigs. In Stinnett, a town of about 1,600, someone propped up an American flag outside a destroyed home.

Dylan Phillips, 24, said he hardly recognized his Stinnett neighborhood, which was littered with melted street signs and the charred frames of cars and trucks. His family’s home survived, but at least a half a dozen others were smoking rubble.

“It was brutal,” Phillips said. “The street lights were out. It was nothing but embers and flames.”

The Smokehouse Creek fire’s explosive growth slowed Thursday as snow fell and winds and temperatures dipped, but it was still untamed and threatening. The largest of several major fires burning in the rural Panhandle section of the state, it has also crossed into Oklahoma.

Firefighter Lee Jones was helping douse the smoldering wreckage of homes in Stinnett to keep them from reigniting when temperatures and winds increase Friday and into the weekend.

(Source: DeSoto Fire Department)

“The snow helps,” said Jones, who was among a dozen firefighters called in from Lubbock to help. “We’re just hitting all the hot spots around town, the houses that have already burned.”

Authorities have not said what ignited the fires, but strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures fed the blazes.

“The rain and the snow is beneficial right now, we’re using it to our advantage,” Texas A&M Forest Service spokesman Juan Rodriguez said of the Smokehouse Creek fire. “When the fire isn’t blowing up and moving very fast, firefighters are able to actually catch up and get to those parts of the fire.”

Authorities said 1,640 square miles (4,248 square kilometers) of the fire were on the Texas side of the border. Previously, the largest fire in recorded state history was the 2006 East Amarillo Complex fire, which burned about 1,400 square miles (3,630 square kilometers) and resulted in 13 deaths.

How big is a 1-million acre wildfire? Smokehouse Creek Fire could stretch from NYC to Philly

The Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas Panhandle surpassed 1 million acres burned on Thursday, becoming the largest wildfire in Lone Star State history.

Two women were the only confirmed deaths so far this week. But with flames still menacing a wide area, authorities had yet to conduct a thorough search for victims or tally the numerous homes and other structures damaged or destroyed.

Cindy Owen was driving in Texas’ Hemphill County south of Canadian on Tuesday afternoon when she encountered fire or smoke, said Sgt. Chris Ray of the state’s Department of Public Safety. She got out of her truck, and flames overtook her.

A passerby found Owen and called first responders, who took her to a burn unit in Oklahoma. She died Thursday morning, Ray said.

The other victim, an 83-year-old woman, was identified by family members as Joyce Blankenship, a former substitute teacher. Her grandson, Lee Quesada, said deputies told his uncle Wednesday that they had found Blankenship’s remains in her burned home.

President Joe Biden, who was in Texas on Thursday to visit the U.S.-Mexico border, said he directed federal officials to do “everything possible” to assist fire-affected communities, including sending firefighters and equipment. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has guaranteed Texas and Oklahoma will be reimbursed for their emergency costs, the president said.