The Smokehouse Creek fire has burned more than a million acres across Texas and neighboring Oklahoma and is now the largest fire ever recorded in the state's history.
The largest fire previously was the 2006 East Amarillo Complex fire which burned about 1,400 square miles Image: Nathan Frandino/REUTERS
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The Smokehouse Creek fire in the northern Texas region known as Texas Panhandle has gone on to become the largest in the state's history, the Texas A&M Forest Service said Friday.
The blaze grew to nearly 1,700 square miles (4,400 square kilometers) and has merged with another fire. The blaze was spreading to neighboring Oklahoma and is just 3% contained, according to the forest service.
The fire's explosive growth was slowed Thursday as snow fell and temperatures dipped, but it was still untamed and threatening.
Snow gave firefighters a brief respite amid desperate efforts to control the fireImage: Ty O'Neil/AP/dpa/picture alliance
US President Joe Biden, who was in Texas on Thursday to visit the US-Mexico border, said he has directed federal officials to do "everything possible" to assist the communities afflicted.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has guaranteed Texas and Oklahoma will be reimbursed for their emergency costs, the president said.
Wildfires in the US: Texas declares state of emergency
Strong winds and high temperatures have led to severe forest fires raging across the United States. Texas has declared a state of emergency and ordered evacuations. And the situation could get worse.
Image: Nick Oxford/REUTERS
Fighting the flames
Several wildfires are keeping firefighters in the US states of Texas and Oklahoma on their toes and are threatening the local population: Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster for 60 communities on Tuesday so that aid can be centrally coordinated.
Image: Flower Mound Fire Department/AP Photo/picture alliance
Fires could grow larger and more dangerous
The flames are spreading quickly and are fanned by strong winds. Unusually high temperatures and dry conditions are further fueling the fires. Abbott does not expect the weather in the region to improve in the coming days. "These conditions could increase the potential for these wildfires to grow larger and more dangerous," the governor said.
Image: Patrick Ryan/REUTERS
Scorched earth
According to Texas authorities, the fire has already burned around 1,500 square kilometers (580,154 square miles) of land — an area about twice the size of Hamburg. Around 4,000 households in the region are without power. There were initially no reports of deaths or injuries. Abbott called on the population to restrict any activities that could generate sparks.
Image: Jeff Bartlett/REUTERS
Nuclear facility evacuated
The fires are also threatening a nuclear facility. US nuclear weapons are being dismantled at the Pantex facility, which is located around 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of the Texan city of Amarillo. Due to the approaching flames, the plant was initially shut down and all employees were evacuated.The facility was able to open again on Wednesday.
Image: Planet Labs PBC/AP Photo/picture alliance
Threatened by fire
The flames are also raging in the neighboring state of Oklahoma: Local authorities have called on those affected in the communities of Ellis and Roger Mills to leave their homes. The grasslands are also burning elsewhere in the Great Plains, including Nebraska and Kansas. Many have lost their homes.
Image: Nick Oxford/REUTERS
A coat of ashes
The small Texan city of Canadian on the border with Oklahoma is particularly threatened by the flames. "It looks like the end of the world. All the trees are covered in white ash," a store owner from the town told news network CNN.
Image: Greenville Fire-Rescue/REUTERS
No escape
Patients from a local hospital were brought to safety. An evacuation order was also issued on Tuesday for the 2,000 residents of Canadian, but roads were closed due to the fires and the authorities advised people to stay in the city via Facebook.
Image: Greenville Fire-Rescue/REUTERS
High temperatures fuel fires
Wildfires are spreading near Shattuck in Oklahoma. US media reported unusually high temperatures in the region. According to the Washington Post, temperatures there last week reached well over 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit). At this time of year, temperatures are usually only around 15 degrees Celsius.
Image: Nick Oxford/REUTERS
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An 83-year-old woman was the only confirmed death so far this week. But with the fires still growing, a tally for people and structures affected is yet to be finalized.
Hot, dry conditions fuel fire
Even though wildfire outbreaks are common in the region at this time of the year, the temperatures this week were unseasonably high.
The forest service also said that firefighters had contained 85% of another fire that covered some 3,300 acres.
By contrast, the Smokehouse Creek Fire is burning a total of 1,075,000 acres across Texas and Oklahoma, according to the forest service.
Since Sunday February 25, the state forest service has responded to 56 wildfires burning more than 1,256,328 acres.
