A Wildfire Scorching The Texas Panhandle Has Grown To The Largest In State History

Canadian, Texas – A wildfire raging over the Texas Panhandle became the largest in state history Thursday, as a dusting of snow covered scorched grassland, dead cattle, and burned-out homes, giving firefighters a little respite in their desperate efforts to contain the inferno.

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

Grey sky from early cloud cover and snow portrayed a gloomy landscape: miles of burnt grassland, charred dwellings that still smouldered, and burned-out cattle stiff in the cold. Someone in Stinnett hoisted up an American flag outside a wrecked home.

A Wildfire Scorching The Texas Panhandle Has Grown To The Largest In State History

The Smokehouse Creek fire’s initial expansion slowed as snow fell, winds shifted, and temperatures dropped, but it remained feral and dangerous. It is the largest of many huge fires in the state’s rural Panhandle. It has also crossed into Oklahoma.

Authorities said that 1,640 square miles (4,248 square kilometres) of the fire were on the Texas side of the border. Previously, the greatest fire in recorded state history was the 2006 East Amarillo Complex fire, which burnt around 1,400 square miles (3,630 square kilometres) and claimed 13 lives.

Firefighters have made little headway in containing the Smokehouse Creek blaze, but Thursday’s prediction of snow, rain, and temperatures in the 40s provided a brief opportunity to make progress before temperatures and winds rose again Friday and into the weekend. Authorities have not revealed what started the flames, but high winds, dry grass, and unusually warm temperatures fueled the blazes.

According to National Weather Service meteorologist Samuel Scoleri, less than an inch of snow is forecast, but moisture will not be the sole benefit.

“It will help keep relative humidity down for the day, and that will definitely help firefighters,” he said.

The only verified death thus far was that of an 83-year-old woman. But, with flames still threatening a large region, authorities have yet to undertake a thorough search for victims or count the number of homes and other structures damaged or destroyed.

According to Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the most difficult problems for firefighters are the weekend forecast and the “sheer size and scope” of the fire.

“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.”

A Wildfire Scorching The Texas Panhandle Has Grown To The Largest In State History

This week, fierce winds drove walls of flames as huge plumes of smoke billowed hundreds of feet into the air over the sparsely populated region. The smoke hampered aerial surveillance of the damage in certain regions.

“There was one point where we couldn’t see anything,” said Greg Downey, 57, recounting his escape as flames engulfed his area. “I didn’t think we’d get out of it.”

Family members recognized the woman who died as Joyce Blankenship, a longtime substitute teacher. Her grandson, Lee Quesada, said he had posted in a community forum asking for help locating her. Quesada said authorities informed his uncle on Wednesday that Blankenship’s remains had been discovered in her burned-out home.

Quesada said she occasionally surprises him with humorous stories “about her more ornery days.”

“Just talking to her was a joy,” he recalled, noting that she went by the moniker “Joy”.

Republican Governor Greg Abbott declared a catastrophe in 60 counties. The key facility that disassembles America’s nuclear weapons was forced to suspend operations Tuesday night due to advancing flames, but it resumed normal operations Wednesday.

Bill Kendall, Hemphill County’s Emergency Management Coordinator, described the scorched terrain as “like a moonscape.” It’s just all gone.

A Wildfire Scorching The Texas Panhandle Has Grown To The Largest In State History

Kendall stated that approximately 40 residences were burned around the boundaries of the town of Canada. Kendall also claimed that he witnessed “hundreds of cattle just dead, laying in the fields.”

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller warned that the flames might be “catastrophic” for cattle ranchers. He stated that more than 85% of Texas cattle are raised on ranches in the Panhandle.

“There are millions of cattle out there,” Miller explained. “Farmers and ranchers are losing everything.”

Tresea Rankin captured video footage of her own burning home in Canada.

“Thirty-eight years of memories, that’s what you were thinking,” Rankin remarked while seeing the wreckage. “Two of my children got married there… But don’t worry, the memories will not go away.”

The small community of Fritch, located north of Amarillo, lost hundreds of homes in a 2014 fire and appears to be slammed hard again. According to Mayor Tom Ray, approximately 40-50 homes were damaged on the southern fringe of the 2,200-person town.

SOURCE – (AP)