Texas Wildfire Burns Through Over One Million Acres, Making It One of the Largest In State’s Recorded History
The Smokehouse Creek fire burns through more than one million acres in the Panhandle, challenging firefighters with its uncontained spread since igniting on February 26 near Stinnett. Quickly reaching the community of Canadian, Oklahoma, it ravaged vast ranch lands, devastated 400 to 500 structures and endangered the significant cattle population making it as one of the largest fires in state’s recorded history.
The Texas A&M Forest Service reports the fire is now 89% contained, with most of its perimeter secured, reducing the likelihood of further spread. While a significant portion of the fire has been extinguished, concerns remain that strong winds may cause intense resurgence.
Several wildfires continue to burn across the Texas Panhandle. The immediate fire environment doesn’t suggest a heightened risk for large, hard-to-control wildfires. The current dry and breezy conditions in South Texas may slightly increase the chance for small wildfires, but near-normal fuel moisture levels should mitigate the risk of major fires.
Texas Wildfire Burns Through Over One Million Acres: Actionable Insights on EigenPrism
Subscribers of ICEYE can use these real-time footprints on EigenPrism®, to quickly assess the impact of wildfire:
Smokehouse Creek Fire – TX (USA) as of 2024-03-11
Feb 28 | Wildfire Ravages Texas Panhandle, Forcing Widespread Evacuations
The Smokehouse Creek Wildfire in the Texas Panhandle, has surged to 200,000 acres since it ignited on Monday afternoon, the Texas A&M Forest Service reports. Strong winds and dry, warm conditions have driven the wildfire’s rapid spread, forcing evacuations in Hemphill and Roberts counties, including the town of Canadian, Texas, about an hour and a half northeast of Amarillo.
This wildfire, still 0% contained, has triggered red flag warnings for over 11 million people in the south-central US, where springlike warmth, gusty winds, and dry conditions create dangerous fire weather. Texas and Oklahoma are at the center of these perilous conditions. On Monday, similar conditions sparked several large wildfires in the Texas Panhandle, burning at least 77,135 acres across 13 wildfires. Four major fires in the Panhandle—the Smokehouse Creek Fire, the Grape Vine Creek Fire, the Windy Deuce Fire, and the Juliet Pass Fire—caused most of the damage.
Despite efforts to contain them, gusty winds of 40 to 60 mph have made three of these fires particularly challenging to control due to their erratic behavior. A cold front on Wednesday will ease fire weather conditions, with winds in the Texas Panhandle becoming breezy in the morning but gradually calming by evening. However, the forecast through the weekend predicts little to no rain, offering no natural assistance to firefighters battling the blazes.
Wildfire Ravages Texas Panhandle, Forcing Widespread Evacuations: Actionable Insights on EigenPrism
All EigenPrism® users can assess the impact using the following report template:
US Wildfire 2024 Feb Forecast Report
The report template auto-updates with the latest available footprints, which include:
- TX Smokehouse Creek Wildfire Active Fire Area,
- TX Smokehouse Creek Wildfire Proximity Map,
- TX Windy Deuce Wildfire Active Fire Area,
- TX Windy Deuce Wildfire Proximity Map, and
- TX Active Wildfire Proximity Map (Shows proximity to all active wildfires in the state of Texas in terms of distance from the nearest fire perimeter)
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