Current:Home > MyFirefighters face difficult weather conditions as they battle the largest wildfire in Texas history-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Firefighters face difficult weather conditions as they battle the largest wildfire in Texas history
View Date:2024-12-24 07:04:03
STINNETT, Texas (AP) — Firefighters battling the largest wildfire in Texas history face increasingly difficult weather conditions on Saturday.
The Smokehouse Creek Fire that began Monday has killed at least two people, left a charred landscape of scorched prairie, dead cattle and destroyed as many as 500 structures, including burned-out homes, in the Texas Panhandle.
The National Weather Service in Amarillo has issued a red flag warning for the entire Panhandle from late Saturday morning through midnight Sunday after rain and snow on Thursday allowed firefighters to contain a portion of the fire.
“A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures will create favorable weather for rapid fire growth and spread,” according to the weather service’s forecast.
“Critical fire weather conditions are expected to return ... as winds out of the southwest gust to 40 to 45 mph and humidity drops below 10 percent,” the forecast said, with a high temperature of 75 degrees F (24 degrees C).
The fire, which has merged with another fire and crossed the state line into western Oklahoma, has burned more than 1,700 square miles (4,400 square kilometers) and was 15% contained, the Texas A&M Forest Service said Friday.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, although strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm weather fed the flames.
“Everybody needs to understand that we face enormous potential fire dangers as we head into this weekend,” Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday after touring the area. “No one can let down their guard. Everyone must remain very vigilant.”
Two women were confirmed killed by the fires this week. But with flames still menacing a wide area, authorities haven’t yet thoroughly searched for victims or tallied homes and other structures damaged or destroyed.
Two firefighters were injured battling the flames in Oklahoma. One suffered a heat-related injury and the other was injured when the brush pumper he was riding in struck a tanker truck as the two were heading to fight the fire near Gage.
Both firefighters are expected to recover.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said individual ranchers could suffer devastating losses due to the fires, but predicted the overall impact on the Texas cattle industry and consumer beef prices would be minimal.
The number of dead cattle was not known, but Miller and local ranchers estimate the total will be in the thousands.
___
Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press journalists Ty O’Neil in Stinnett, Texas, Jamie Stengle in Dallas, and Ken Miller in Oklahoma City contributed.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- Sister Wives’ Christine Brown Shares Glimpse Into Honeymoon One Year After Marrying David Woolley
- Sleepy bears > shining moments: March Napness brings bracketology to tired sanctuary bears
- Rep. Mike Turner says aid to Ukraine is critical: We have to support them now or they will lose
- Survivors say opportunities were missed that could have prevented Maine’s worst-ever mass shooting
- West Virginia expands education savings account program for military families
- Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says federal government not notified about suspect in Georgia nursing student's death
- Brian Austin Green Details “Freaking Out” With Jealousy During Tiffani Thiessen Romance
- US sanctions Zimbabwe president Emmerson Mnangagwa over human rights abuses
- Oil Industry Asks Trump to Repeal Major Climate Policies
- Florida gymnastics coach charged with having sex with 2 underage students
Ranking
- New Orleans marks with parade the 64th anniversary of 4 little girls integrating city schools
- Emma Hemming Willis shares video about Bruce Willis' life after diagnosis: It's filled with joy.
- Rotting bodies, fake ashes and sold body parts push Colorado to patch lax funeral home rules
- 2024 NFL combine winners, losers: Which players helped or hurt draft stock?
- New York nursing home operator accused of neglect settles with state for $45M
- Jonathan Majors and Meagan Good Make Red Carpet Debut in First Appearance After His Assault Trial
- Emma Stone’s $4.3 Million Los Angeles Home Is Like Stepping into La La Land
- Teenager dead, 4 other people wounded in shooting at Philadelphia bus stop, police say
Recommendation
-
Statue of the late US Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon, is unveiled in his native Alabama
-
Deleted emails of late North Dakota attorney general recovered amid investigation of ex-lawmaker
-
New Massachusetts license plate featuring 'Cat in the Hat' honors Springfield native Dr. Seuss
-
Alabama Supreme Court IVF Ruling Renews Focus on Plastics, Chemical Exposure and Infertility
-
West Virginia governor-elect Morrisey to be sworn in mid-January
-
First over-the-counter birth control pill in US begins shipping to stores
-
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says federal government not notified about suspect in Georgia nursing student's death
-
Kate Winslet was told to sing worse in 'The Regime,' recalls pop career that never was