Santa Fe New Mexican

Texas battles wildfire in harsh weather

- By Sean Murphy, Jim Vertuno and Ken Miller

STINNETT, Texas — Firefighte­rs in Texas faced rising temperatur­es, whipped-up winds and dry air Saturday in their battle to keep the largest wildfire in state history from turning more of the Panhandle into a parched wasteland.

Firefighte­rs were focused on containing the fire along its northern and eastern perimeter, where aggressive gusts from the southwest threatened to spread the flames and consume more acreage, according to Jason Nedlo, a spokespers­on with the team of firefighte­rs battling the Smokehouse Creek Fire that began Monday and has claimed at least two lives.

“The main goal is to continue using dozers and fire engines to contain and patrol the fire,” Nedlo said. “We’re also focused on not losing any more structures, no more loss of life.”

The massive fire has left a charred landscape of scorched prairie, dead cattle and destroyed as many as 500 structures, including burned-out homes, in the Texas Panhandle. It has merged with another fire and crossed the state line into Oklahoma, burning more than 1,700 square miles and was 15% contained, the Texas A&M Forest Service said Saturday.

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for the entire Panhandle through midnight Sunday after rain and snow on Thursday allowed firefighte­rs to contain a portion of the fire.

Signs warning travelers of the critical fire danger are in place along Interstate 40 leading into Amarillo.

“New fires could also potentiall­y start ... the relative humidities are very low, the wind gusts are high and so it doesn’t take much, all there needs to be is a spark” to ignite another fire, said meteorolog­ist William Churchill with the National Weather Prediction Center.

Nedlo said because of the ongoing weather conditions, it is not possible yet to predict when the flames will be fully contained and brought under control.

“We’ll know more after the weekend . ... We’re just not willing to speculate,” Nedlo said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigat­ion, although strong winds, dry grass and unseasonab­ly warm weather fed the flames.

“Everybody needs to understand that we face enormous potential fire dangers as we head into this weekend,” Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday after touring the area. “No one can let down their guard. Everyone must remain very vigilant.”

Two women were confirmed killed by the fires this week. But with flames still menacing a wide area, authoritie­s haven’t yet thoroughly searched for victims or tallied homes and other structures damaged or destroyed.

Two firefighte­rs were injured battling the flames in Oklahoma. One suffered a heat-related injury and the other was injured when the brush pumper he was riding in struck a tanker truck as the two were heading to fight the fire near Gage.

 ?? DESIREE RIOS/THE NEW YORK TIMES ?? A cow and her calf graze Thursday among land burned in the Smokehouse Creek fire at a cattle ranch near Miami, Texas. The largest wildfire in state history has destroyed 500 structures in the Texas Panhandle.
DESIREE RIOS/THE NEW YORK TIMES A cow and her calf graze Thursday among land burned in the Smokehouse Creek fire at a cattle ranch near Miami, Texas. The largest wildfire in state history has destroyed 500 structures in the Texas Panhandle.

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