Texas Wildfire: 1 Million Acres Burned, Evacuations Ordered

The Smokehouse Creek wildfire, now the largest in Texas history, has ravaged over 1 million acres, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. Officials confirmed the staggering extent of the blaze on Thursday, revealing the grim toll it has taken. Evacuation efforts are in full swing, with residents of Canadian, Glazier, Higgins, and parts of Hemphill and Roberts counties fleeing for safety. Governor Greg Abbott has declared a disaster for 60 northern Texas counties, highlighting the severity of the situation.

Tragically, the fire has claimed at least one life, an 83-year-old woman in Stinnett, according to reports from Hutchinson County officials. With the full extent of the damage yet to be assessed, there are fears that the death toll could rise. The fire has also forced the shutdown of a major nuclear weapons assembly plant near Amarillo, although authorities have reassured the public that weapons and materials are secure.

The aftermath of the fire has been described as a ‘moonscape’ by Hemphill County Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Kendall, emphasizing the extent of the devastation. Strong winds, reaching up to 60 mph, continue to fan the flames, hindering firefighting efforts. However, there is hope that potential rain in the forecast could provide some relief to firefighters battling the blaze.

The cause of the fire, which ignited on Monday afternoon in rural Hutchinson County, remains a mystery. In just 24 hours, it exploded from 100,000 acres to a staggering 500,000 acres, making it one of several fires burning in northern Texas. The Grape Vine Creek fire, the state’s second-largest active fire, has burned approximately 30,000 acres east of Amarillo and is currently 60% contained.

The previous record for the largest wildfire in Texas was the East Amarillo Complex wildfire in 2006, which burned 907,245 acres. This was followed by the Big Country fire in 1988, at an estimated 366,000 acres, and the 2017 Perryton fire, which scorched more than 318,000 acres.

While Texas has faced devastating wildfires in the past, it is not typically known for the scale of massive wildfires more common in the Rocky Mountains and the West Coast. Last year, Texas experienced just over 7,500 wildfires that burned approximately 205,000 acres. This is a fraction of the damage caused by wildfires in California, where the average annual destruction between 2018 and 2022 exceeded 1.8 million acres, according to CalFire.”