According to a CNN meteorologist, the flames are moving at a speed of two football fields per second due to strong winds and unusually warm temperatures.
Published on February 29, 2024 8:40 p.m. Updated on February 29, 2024 8:49 p.m
Reading time: 1 min
Firefighters approach the Smokehouse Creek fire in Texas, USA, February 27, 2024. (GREENVILLE PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION / AFP)
Texas is facing one of the largest fires in its history. According to local authorities, at least one person has died in the fires in the north of the US state. In the town of Stinnett, an 83-year-old grandmother died in the fire, a Hutchinson County official announced to local media on Wednesday, February 28, adding that at least 20 structures were destroyed. About a hundred kilometers east, in the town of Canadian, “several houses burned,” the mayor told CNN, but “fortunately no one was seriously injured.”
The Smokehouse Creek fire, an area known for its grasslands, was only 3% contained. The huge fire, which spread as a result of strong winds and unusually warm temperatures, has already burned 344,000 hectares. According to CNN meteorologist Chad Myers, the fire is spreading at a rate of two football fields per second. In total, the five ongoing fires in Texas, including the Smokehouse Creek fire, have burned more than 404,000 acres.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster for 60 counties in the southern state on Tuesday. The National Weather Service in Amarillo, the region's largest city, said Wednesday that cool temperatures “accompanied by light winds” were expected, which should help firefighters battle the flames.
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