Texas firefighters battle flames stoked by strong winds as warnings are issued across the region
McALLEN, Texas — Strong winds spread flames and led to at least one evacuation on Sunday, as planes dropped fire retardant over Texas’ northern panhandle as firefighters worked to stop the largest wildfire in the state’s history.
As of Sunday afternoon, the Smokehouse Creek fire, which has burned more than 1 million acres (404,685 hectares), was 15% contained. Two other fires that burned a total of 180,000 acres (72,843 hectares) were 60% contained.
Authorities have not said what started the fires, but strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures fueled the blazes.
A cluster of fires has spread across more than 4,921 square kilometers in rural areas around Amarillo, with the largest blaze spreading into neighboring Oklahoma.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday that the federal government has deployed money, equipment and personnel to help fight the fires, but warned that more extreme weather could come.
“More than a million hectares have been burned. And we’re in winter, and this is the largest fire in Texas history,” Mayorkas said during a CNN interview. “We, as a country and as a world, must be ready for the increasing impacts of extreme weather due to climate change. It is a remarkable phenomenon and it will manifest itself in the coming days, and we must prepare for it now.”
The National Weather Service on Sunday issued red flag warnings — indicating extreme fire danger due to warm temperatures, low humidity and high winds — across much of the central U.S., including Texas and the neighboring states of New Mexico and Oklahoma .
Red flag warnings also covered most of Nebraska and Iowa, along with large parts of Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota. Smaller parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Minnesota and Illinois were also issued red flag warnings.
Strong winds spread the flames, prompting an evacuation order in Sanford, a Texas town of just over 100 residents, according to a post from the Amarillo office of the National Weather Service on X, formerly Twitter.
As firefighters battled the unprecedented wildfires, humanitarian organizations focused on victims who had lost their homes and livelihoods. Residents began cleaning up affected properties on Saturday and by Sunday the extent of damage began to increase.
Donations ranging from $25 to $500 have been critical to the Hutchinson County United Way Wildfire Relief Fund, which distributes proceeds to displaced families.
“We already know that a large group of people are uninsured and have lost their homes. So without financial help, it will be very difficult for them to start over,” said Julie Winters, executive director of Hutchinson County United Way.
The organization has heard estimates that more than 150 homes in the county have been affected, noting that the fires extend to at least five other counties, Winters said.
A steady stream of donated clothing, water and hot meals quickly overwhelmed a community in the affected area. The city of Borger, Texas, urged people in a social media post to shift donation efforts from food and water to cleaning supplies, including shovels, rakes, gloves and trash bags.
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Associated Press writer Thomas Strong in Washington, D.C., and Trisha Ahmed in Minneapolis contributed to this story.