Texas

PHOTOS: Several wildfires burn in Texas Panhandle

February 28, 2024

  

TEXAS PANHANDLE (KXAN) — Residents in several counties in Texas’ panhandle were issued evacuation orders as multiple wildfires have burned and spread in the area since Monday.

One of the fires, called the Smokehouse Creek wildfire in Hutchinson County, has now grown to 500,000 acres, making it the second largest wildfire in Texas history, according to maps and archives from the Texas A&M Forest Service.

In this photo provided by the Flower Mound, Texas, Fire Department, Flower Mound firefighters respond to a fire in the Texas Panhandle, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. A rapidly widening Texas wildfire doubled in size Tuesday and prompted evacuation orders in at least one small town. (Flower Mound Fire Department via AP)
In this photo provided by the Flower Mound, Texas, Fire Department, Flower Mound firefighters respond to a fire in the Texas Panhandle, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. A rapidly widening Texas wildfire doubled in size Tuesday and prompted evacuation orders in at least one small town. (Flower Mound Fire Department via AP)

For perspective on the size of the Smokehouse Creek fire, it is nearly three times the size of the City of Austin by measure of acres.

  • Smoke rises from smoldering hay bales outside the town of Canadian, Texas on Wednesday, Feb 28, 2024. A fast-moving wildfire burning through the Texas Panhandle grew into the second-largest blaze in state history Wednesday, forcing evacuations and triggering power outages as firefighters struggled to contain the widening flames.(AP Photo/Sean Murphy)
  • Smoke rises from smoldering hay bales outside the town of Canadian, Texas on Wednesday, Feb 28, 2024. A fast-moving wildfire burning through the Texas Panhandle grew into the second-largest blaze in state history Wednesday, forcing evacuations and triggering power outages as firefighters struggled to contain the widening flames. (AP Photo/Sean Murphy)
  • Smoke rises from smoldering hay bales outside the town of Canadian, Texas on Wednesday, Feb 28, 2024. A fast-moving wildfire burning through the Texas Panhandle grew into the second-largest blaze in state history Wednesday, forcing evacuations and triggering power outages as firefighters struggled to contain the widening flames. (AP Photo/Sean Murphy)

The largest wildfire recorded in Texas history also occurred in Hutchinson County. Known as the East Amarillo Complex fire, it ignited on March 12, 2006 and burned 907,245 acres, according to the Forest Service. It is also recorded as the deadliest fire in Texas history, with 13 fatalities reported.

A video of charred pastures and columns of smoke seen in the distance was captured by KXAN’s Ryan Chandler on the drive to Canadian, Texas on Wednesday.

Another video showed debris left behind from buildings that were destroyed in wildfires in Canadian.

Firefighters from several Central Texas emergency districts headed to the Texas panhandle to assist in fighting the fires.