President Joe Biden addresses Texas Panhandle wildfires
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At least two people have died as five wildfires rage across the Texas Panhandle, including the largest blaze in state history.
83-year-old Joyce Blankenship was found dead in her destroyed Hutchinson County home, officials said. On Thursday it was confirmed that a second woman – Cindy Owens – had succumbed to her injuries after getting out of her truck and being severely burned on Tuesday.
The Smokehouse Creek fire is now the largest in state history, burning 1,075,000 acres, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. It is now the second-largest fire in US history, local fire officials said, and more than five times the size of New York City.
The wildfires spreading across the Texas Panhandle have burned more than 1.2m acres of land, prompting evacuations and destroying dozens of homes.
The city of Fritch in Hutchinson County has been hit hard this week, with several homes destroyed. The same city was hit by a devastating fire in 2014 that wrecked the town’s northern edge, while this week’s fire hit the south.
Snow also fell in the county on Thursday, covering newly scorched landscapes and destroyed homes.
SEE IT: Destruction from largest fire in state history in Canadian, Texas
Rescue crews work on a downed power line near Canadian, Texas
(Copyright 2024 The Associated Press All Rights Reserved)
Damaged property burned by wildfires near Canadian, Texas
(Copyright 2024 The Associated Press All Rights Reserved)
A burned car and garage in Canadian, Texas
(Copyright 2024 The Associated Press All Rights Reserved)
Katie Hawkinson1 March 2024 03:00
SEE IT: Satellite footage of Smokehouse Creek fire rapidly expanding
Katie Hawkinson1 March 2024 02:00
Second person dies as result of Texas wildfires
A second person has reportedly died as a result of the Texas wildfires.
The woman, named by authorities as Cindy Owens, was approaching fire and smoke while driving a truck in Canadian on Tuesday. She got out of the truck for an unknown reason and “the fire simply overtook her,” according to Sergeant Chris Ray of Texas Department of Public Safety told NBC.
A passerby stopped and helped Owens, believed to be in her 40s, when she was burned by the fire and called 911. She was taken to a burn unit in Oklahoma City, but died on Thursday morning.
“We still don’t know why she got out of her truck,” Sergeant Ray told NBC.
Mike Bedigan1 March 2024 01:57
Thirteen homes in Oklahoma damaged by fires
The Smokehouse Creek fire, which spread from the Texas panhandle on Tuesday, has now destroyed at least thirteen homes in Oklahoma.
That number could rise from last night as crews continue to survey damage from the spreading fire.
Katie Hawkinson1 March 2024 01:00
SEE IT: Infrared satellite image shows Texas fires burning
Infrared satellite imagery shows burned areas in Texas Panhandle on Wednesday
(Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Tech)
Katie Hawkinson1 March 2024 00:00
WATCH: Joe Biden addresses Texas Panhandle wildfires
Joe Biden addresses Texas Panhandle wildfires
Katie Hawkinson29 February 2024 23:00
Volunteers leading firefighting efforts in some Panhandle cities
A Hutchinson County official reminded residents that some cities in the Panhandle are being protected from fires by volunteer-based departments.
“I want to kind of reiterate in Fritch and Stinnett, both are volunteer-based fire departments,” a spokesperson with the Hutchinson County Office of Emergency Management said Thursday afternoon. “So these people do not have to do that. That’s them just doing what they feel like they need to do for their community.”
Both cities were hit hard by the fires scorching 1.2m acres in the Texas Panhandle this week.
Katie Hawkinson29 February 2024 22:40
SEE IT: Satellite footage of Smokehouse Creek fire rapidly expanding
Katie Hawkinson29 February 2024 22:20
Previous prescribed burns helped limit flames this week
An official with the Hutchinson County, Texas Office of Emergency Services said prescribed burning helped prevent this week’s fires from becoming worse.
“You can see where we did our prescribed burns previously, how, thankfully, our wildland team did that, because that saved a lot of people’s properties,” the spokesperson said on a Facebook live video. “I know we couldn’t save everything.”
Late last year, Texas officials conducted a prescribed burn in Hutchinson County, which prevented this week’s fires from spreading into the southern parts of the town of Borger, CNN reports.
Prescribed burns are fires intentionally set in controlled areas to destroy fire fuels like dried-out grass and leaves. Indigenous communities have used this practice for millennia and have long advocated for the US government to adopt it in fire-vulnerable areas.
Katie Hawkinson29 February 2024 22:00
ICYMI: Nuclear weapon factory forced to evacuate as Texas wildfires threaten plant
Pantex Plant, the main facility that assembles and disassembles America’s nuclear arsenal, shut down its operations on Tuesday night as the Windy Deuce fire roared towards the Potter County location.
Katie Hawkinson29 February 2024 21:40
