STINNETT, Texas — Critical fire weather conditions have returned to the Texas Panhandle this weekend, adding fresh headaches to firefighters trying to contain the largest wildfire in state history.
The Smokehouse Creek Fire north of Stinnett remains at just under 1.08 million acres burned with 15% containment as of Saturday morning, fire officials said. At least two people have died in the blaze.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday that early estimates show as many as 500 structures have been destroyed. At least five firefighters have been injured while battling the blazes, according to Texas Department of Emergency Management Director Nim Kidd.
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But after a coating of snow graced the region on Thursday, slowing the fire’s spread and allowing firefighters to gain ground from 3% to 15% containment, warm, dry and windy weather has returned for the weekend.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center is warning of critical fire weather conditions across the Texas Panhandle into much of the western Plains, including Denver, for both Saturday and Sunday.
As a result, Fire Weather Warnings are spread across eight states covering over 8 million people through the weekend.
For where the Smokehouse Creek and nearby Windy Deuce Fire are burning, wind gusts are forecast to reach 40 mph on Saturday, then increase to 50 mph on Sunday. In addition, humidity will drop into single digits, perhaps as low as 6-8%.
“It’s going to be a very active weekend,” Kidd said.
Similar dry, windy conditions earlier this week allowed the Smokehouse Creek fire to explode in size from spark to over 1 million acres in just over three days.
While some of that fire has now scorched land in Oklahoma, the 1.05 million acres burned in Texas is now the largest wildfire in state history. That includes what was known as the 687Reamer Fire, which has been absorbed by Smokehouse Creek.
One of the many families picking up the pieces after the wildfires raged through Texas was Ronnie and Susan Johnson. Their family members were at their home in Fritch when flames raced toward their ranch.
“I rushed home to grab my dogs out of the kennel, and threw them into the back of my vehicle,” Susan Johnson told FOX Weather. “About that time Ronnie got here, and I grabbed a tub full of important papers and threw it in the car.”
Ronnie said he was going out on his tractor to try to stop the fire.
“He told me to go, and I left with my dog, but he stayed behind to fight the fire,” Susan Johnson said. “He stopped (the flames) in one spot, but it snuck up around him on another (eventually) going around Ronnie and caught everything on fire. Then Ronnie got out of there with his tires smoking hot.”
The family returned to find their home of the last 20 years had been destroyed.
But Susan says they will for sure rebuild.
“We have seven children here, and I have 11 grandbabies so far, and I have every intention of those grandbabies coming to Mimi’s house,” she said. “There will be another home and a great big table.”
Kidd said the wildfires’ cause and origin investigations are underway.
Long range forecasts show continued dry and windy conditions lingering into the workweek, with no significant chance of rain over at least the next seven days.