Strong winds spread the flames and forced the evacuation of at least one population while planes dropped fire retardant over the northern strip of Texas and firefighters tried to stop the largest wildfire in the state’s history.
As of Sunday afternoon, the Smokehouse Creek Fire was 15% contained and two other fires were at least 60% contained. Authorities have not said what sparked the fires, but high winds, dry grass and unusually warm temperatures fanned the flames.
A group of fires has burned more than 4,921 square kilometers (more than 1,900 square miles) in rural areas around Amarillo. The largest fire, Smokehouse Creek, covering about 1,700 square miles (4,400 square kilometers) spread to neighboring Oklahoma.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said the federal government has dedicated funds, equipment and personnel to assist in firefighting efforts, but warned that more extreme weather conditions could come.
“More than a million acres have burned. And we’re in winter, and this is the largest fire in Texas history,” Mayorkas said in an interview on CNN. “We as a country and as a world have to be ready for the growing effects of extreme weather caused by climate change. It is a striking phenomenon and will become evident in the days to come, and we must prepare for it now.”
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued red alerts Sunday night indicating extreme fire risk due to high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds across much of the central United States, including Texas and the neighboring states of New Mexico. and Oklahoma.
There were also red alerts in almost all of Nebraska and Iowa, as well as much of Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota. Smaller areas of Colorado, Wyoming, Minnesota and Illinois were also under red alert.
The strong winds spread the flames and caused the evacuation of Sanford, a Texas town of just over 100 residents, the NWS’s Amarillo office said on X, formerly Twitter.
As firefighters battled unprecedented fires, humanitarian organizations focused on victims who have lost their homes and livelihoods. Residents began clearing affected properties on Saturday, and reports of damage were piling up on Sunday.
Donations of between $25 and $500 have been crucial to the Hutchinson County United Way Wildfire Relief Fund, which distributes proceeds to displaced families.
“We already know that a large group of uninsured people lost their homes. So without financial help it’s going to be very difficult for them to start again,” said Julie Winters, executive director of Hutchinson County United Way.
The organization has heard estimates of more than 150 homes affected in the county and noted that the fires affected at least five other counties, Winters said.
Donations of clothing, water and hot food quickly overwhelmed a community in the affected area. The town of Borger, Texas, urged people on social media to redirect their efforts to cleaning supplies such as shovels, rakes, gloves and garbage bags instead of food and water.
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