The blaze started during scorching midsummer temperatures and quickly spread across the dry grasslands due to strong winds.
Terrifying scenes unfolded when a nuclear weapons facility near Amarillo had to be evacuated as the flames approached. Nearby residents panicked as they fled from the advancing inferno.
With an area of 3,400 square kilometers consumed, the ‘Smokehouse Creek Fire’ has become the second largest forest fire in Texas’ history.
Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency in 60 counties as the massive plumes of smoke can even be observed from space. Firefighters have only managed to contain three percent of the fire so far, with the sun obscured by the thick smoke, casting an eerie orange glow across the sky.
Communities have fallen victim to the fire’s wrath: in Canadian, 30 buildings were destroyed, while in Fritsch, authorities reported homes reduced to ashes. Even cattle farms were not spared as terrified animals bolted through the smoke-filled fields. Despite power outages affecting 10,000 homes from melted power lines and transformers, no fatalities have been reported.
While the weather has cooled slightly, offering hope for progress in battling the fire, toxic smoke has spread to neighboring states like Oklahoma and New Mexico.
This devastating fire broke out during an unusual winter heatwave, with temperatures in Dallas soaring to 94 F at the start of the week.
