According to a CNN meteorologist, the flames are moving at a speed of two football fields per second due to high winds and unseasonably warm temperatures.
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Texas facing one of the largest fires in its history. The fires raging in the north of the American state have left at least one dead, according to local authorities. In the small town of Stinnett, an 83-year-old grandmother died in the fire, a Hutchinson County official announced to local media on Wednesday, February 28, adding that at least 20 buildings had been destroyed. About a hundred kilometers to the east, in the town of Canadian, “several houses burned”declared the mayor to the CNN channel, but “fortunately no one was seriously injured”.
The Smokehouse Creek fire, an area known for its grasslands, was only 3% contained. The huge blaze, which spread following strong winds and unseasonably warm temperatures, has already burned 344,000 hectares. According to CNN meteorologist Chad Myers, the fire is moving at a speed of two football fields per second. In total, the five ongoing fires in Texas, including the Smokehouse Creek fire, have burned more than 404,000 acres.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster for 60 counties in the southern state on Tuesday. The National Weather Service in Amarillo, the region’s largest city, said Wednesday that cool temperatures “accompanied by light winds” were expected, which should help firefighters fight the flames.
