Multiple large wildfires have been burning in the Texas panhandle since Monday. Governor Greg Abbott declared a disaster for sixty counties on Tuesday in response to the wildfires. Governor Abbott also directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to ‘activate additional state emergency response resources to support local firefighters’ fighting the fires.
Four major fires are consuming valuable grazing pasture, bringing them closer to populated areas by the hour.
The Smokehouse Creek Fire in Hutchinson County is the largest, having burned 250,000 acres in just 28 hours. As of Tuesday afternoon, it was 0% contained.
Where is the Texas Panhandle wildfire?
The town of Canadian is the worst affected town. An evacuation was underway earlier, but residents have since been advised to shelter in place.
The Grape Vine Creek Fire, which is currently burning in Gray County, has already scorched over 30,000 acres. The Texas A&M Forest Service reported that it was 20% contained as of Tuesday afternoon.
The Windy Deuce Fire in Moore County had burned over 8,000 acres and was about 20% contained on Tuesday.
The smallest fire, the Juliet Pass Fire in Armstrong County, burned slightly more than 3,000 acres and was already 80% contained.
Here’s a complete list of all the counties covered by Abbott’s disaster proclamation, in alphabetical order:
Archer, Armstrong, Bailey, Baylor, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Childress, Cochran, Collingsworth, Cottle, Crosby, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Dickens, Donley, Fannin, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gray, Gregg, Hale, Hall, Hansford, Hardeman, Harrison, Hartley, Haskell, Hemphill, Hockley, Hutchinson, Kent, King, Knox, Lamb, Lipscomb, Lubbock, Lynn, Moore, Motley, Nacogdoches, Newton, Ochiltree, Oldham, Parmer, Potter
Swisher, Terry, Throckmorton, Upshur, Wheeler, and Young.
