Where is the fire?
The Smokehouse Creek fire has so far scorched more than 1m acres – 1,600 sq miles – across the Texas Panhandle, as well as tens of thousands of acres in Oklahoma. It stretches over an area larger than Rhode Island, making it the largest ever wildfire in Texas, and the second-largest in US history, according to modern fire records.
What has the impact been?
Two women in Texas were confirmed dead on Thursday, as were scores of cattle including newborn calves. The destruction includes acres of farmland, homes and businesses. Dozens of smaller fires are also burning across the Panhandle region, north-east of the city of Amarillo. A nuclear weapons facility has been closed and staff evacuated.
How has it spread so far, so fast?
As of Friday morning, 15% of the Smokehouse Creek fire had been contained, according to the Texas A&M forest service.
It’s unclear what started the fires, but dry, grassy vegetation, strong winds and atypically warm temperatures have helped them rapidly spread and combine to make larger fires, making it extremely difficult for firefighters to contain the blazes.
Is the climate crisis to blame?
It’s too early to say, but the average temperature high for Amarillo in February is 54F (12C), based on National Weather Service data from 1981 to 2010. The temperature will rise to the mid 70s today, higher than normal but short of the 88F record high. The warm temperatures combined with unusually gusty winds and dry conditions have likely helped fuel the blaze. On Thursday, 1in (2.5cm) of snow settled at the NWS office in Amarillo, breaking the previous record of 0.7in set back in 1960.
As the planet warms, erratic extreme weather is the new norm.
What could happen now?
On Thursday, light rain and a dusting of snow improved firefighting conditions and continued through Friday. But the clock is ticking as the heat, high winds and low humidity are likely to cause “critical fire weather conditions” over the weekend, according to the NWS in Amarillo. The temperature is forecast to hit the low 80s, which is 20F warmer than the March average.
A fire weather watch advisory is in effect for parts of western and north-western Oklahoma for Saturday and Sunday, as high temperatures, strong south-west winds and low humidity increase the potential for large fire occurrences, according to Oklahoma forestry services.