Wildfires may have destroyed as many as 500 structures in the Texas Panhandle, governor Greg Abbott says, describing how the largest blaze in state history scorched everything in its path.
Texas officials warned that the threat was not yet over. Higher temperatures and stronger winds forecast for Saturday elevated worries that fires in the Panhandle could spread beyond the more than 4,400 square kilometres already chewed up this week by fast-moving flames.
The largest blaze, the Smokehouse Creek fire has killed at least two people, and left a charred landscape of scorched prairie, dead cattle and burned-out homes. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, although strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm weather fed the flames.
“When you look at the damages that have occurred here it’s just gone, completely gone nothing left but ashes on the ground,” Abbott said during a news conference in Borger, Texas. He said a preliminary assessment found 400 to 500 structures had been destroyed.
Abbott praised what he called a “heroic” response from “fearless” firefighters.
The National Weather Service forecast for the coming days warns of strong winds, relatively low humidity and dry conditions that pose a “significant” wildfire threat.
“Everybody needs to understand that we face enormous potential fire dangers as we head into this weekend,” Abbott said. “No one can let down their guard. Everyone must remain very vigilant.”
In the hard-hit town of Stinnett families who evacuated returned to devastating scenes: melted street signs and charred frames of cars and trucks. Homes reduced to piles of ash and rubble.
The Smokehouse Creek fire has also crossed into Oklahoma, and the Texas A&M Forest Service said Friday it had merged with another fire. It was 15 per cent contained Friday afternoon, up from 3 per cent on Thursday.
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.
President Joe Biden, who was in Texas on Thursday to visit the US-Mexico border, said he directed federal officials to do “everything possible” to assist fire-affected communities, including sending firefighters and equipment. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has guaranteed Texas and Oklahoma will be reimbursed for their emergency costs, the president said.
“When disasters strike, there’s no red states or blue states where I come from,” Biden said. “Just communities and families looking for help.”
The weekend forecast and “sheer size and scope” of the blaze are the biggest challenges for firefighters, said Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
“I don’t want the community there to feel a false sense of security that all these fires will not grow anymore,” Kidd said. “This is still a very dynamic situation.”
Encroaching flames caused the main facility that disassembles America’s nuclear arsenal to pause operations Tuesday night, but it was open for normal work by Wednesday. The small town of Fritch, which lost hundreds of homes in a 2014 fire, saw 40 to 50 more destroyed this week, Mayor Tom Ray said.
Source Agencies
