Two wildfires that are burning up the Texas panhandle have merged to create a super-wildfire that covers more than 1 million acres.
That makes the conflagration the largest wildfire in Texas history—and there’s no end in sight as dry air and high winds are expected to pick up again later today and carry on through the weekend.
The largest of the wildfires is responsible for most of the damage. The Smokehouse Creek fire in Hutchinson County, which is just 15% contained (a notable upgrade from Thursday’s 3% containment), has destroyed an estimated 1,075,000 acres as of 11:30 a.m. ET on Friday, according to the Texas A&M Forrest Service. The 687 Reamer Fire had burned over 2,000 acres before merging with Smokehouse Creek yesterday.
A non-merged additional fire, the Grape Vine Creek Fire, has destroyed 30,000 acres in Gray County (and is currently 60% contained), and the Windy Deuce Fire in Moore County, which is 55% contained, has taken out 142,000 acres.
Combined, the fires have burned an area that’s roughly the size of Delaware. Two people have died from the blazes, as have thousands of cattle.
President Joe Biden has committed to helping those affected by the wildfires and deployed hundreds of federal workers to assist in the effort. And Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has declared a disaster for 60 counties in the state as well as ordered widespread evacuations.
Thursday gave crews a chance to make some headway against the fires, as it brought wintery precipitation, spreading moisture to areas desperately in need of it. But the winds expected this weekend could undo that progress. The forest service has raised its wildland fire preparedness ranking to level 3, meaning it expects wildfire activity to increase over the next several days.
Authorities have not yet said what ignited the fires.