By Julie Tomascik
Editor

The Smokehouse Creek Fire that started in Hutchinson County is officially the largest wildfire in Texas history and the second largest in U.S. history.

It has burned over 1 million acres across Texas and Oklahoma.

As of March 1, the fire is only 15% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

The conditions for wildfires may worsen over the weekend, fueled by low humidity and high winds.

“Strong winds and warm temperatures have resulted in grasses drying across many portions of Texas,” Wes Moorehead, Texas A&M Forest Service fire chief, said. “As firefighters continue to suppress active fires, we urge Texans to be cautious with any outdoor activity that may cause a spark.”

Additional active wildfires in the Panhandle include the Grape Vine Creek Fire in Gray County, the Windy Deuce Fire in Moore County and the Magenta Fire in Oldham County.

“Earlier this week, we had what’s called the Southern Plains wildfire outbreak. We had conditions with low humidity, dry fuels and very high winds. That coincided with a cold front, which made these fires grow rapidly and be very difficult to control. That’s what the resulting burned acreage is from,” Sean Dugan, Texas A&M Forest Service public information officer, said.

Dugan explained the pace of the fires in an interview with the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network.

“These fires in the Southern Plains wildfire outbreaks move at about a pace anywhere from 3 to 6 miles an hour. That doesn’t sound that fast, but that speed covers about two football fields a minute,” Dugan said. “Now if you multiply that by the distance the fire is burning, there could be hundreds of football fields being eaten up minute by minute. And that’s what happened with these fires.”

The fires grew so quickly due to the high winds. And when the cold front hit, the winds shifted from the west to the north.

“It brought the head fire around. Instead of having a head fire that was a few miles long, we had a head fire that was 60 miles long,” Dugan said.

The extent of the damage is still unknown.

“It’s impacted farmers and ranchers for sure. There have been a lot of livestock casualties. There’s not an accurate count on those as of yet,” Dugan said.

Structures have also been lost, including homes and barns.

“We have a post fire assessment team that arrived yesterday, and they have been working to document the losses,” Dugan said.

Since Feb. 25, Texas A&M Forest Service has responded to 56 wildfires burning more than 1,256,328 acres.