The Smokehouse Creek wildfire which has engulfed a small portion of the Texas panhandle has now grown to 500,000 acres and counting, and it's the second-largest wildfire in Texas history, behind the East Amarillo Complex fire, which burned a staggering 907,245 acres back in 2006.
The fire's been burning since Monday, and as of this morning it's frighteningly only 3% contained. Yes, 3%. High winds and dry temperatures have not helped the situation, though rain is expected in the area Thursday.
The Smokehouse Creek Fire has caused several towns, a neighborhood in the city of Amarillo, and other communities to evacuate, according to the forest service and local law enforcement.
The National Weather Service has warned residents near Amarillo to remain indoors with their pets because of the poor air quality. Texas has issued warnings to farmers about the potential impact on agriculture and livestock.
In the affected area, more than 4,500 homes and businesses are without power, according to PowerOutage.us.
Governor Abbott has issued a disaster declaration for 60 Texas counties.
A little more context:
In the Texas A&M Forest Service's latest website update on Tuesday, there were five active wildfires - the Juliet Pass Fire in Armstrong County, Grape Vine Creek Fire in Gray County, Smokehouse Creek Fire in Hutchinson County, Windy Deuce Fire in Moore County and Old Bunger Fire in Young County.
Here's video from overnight Tuesday:
Here's a fire rescue team driving right through the flames:
A few more videos:
Early reporting told us that a nuclear facility was in danger of being engulfed by the flames, but that was thankfully avoided.
Concerns about the spreading fire north of the Pantex nuclear weapons site in Amarillo forced the facility to temporarily close and evacuate staff on Tuesday night. The plant is a key site for the assembly, dismantlement and maintenance of US nuclear weapons.
Pantex said on Facebook that it reopened on Wednesday morning, as there was no fire within the plant site.
Laef Pendergraft, a nuclear safety engineer at the National Nuclear Security Administration production office at Pantex, told a news conference on Tuesday night that an emergency response team had been activated.
He added that the plant's own fire department "has trained for these scenarios".
We'll keep an eye on this fire, which may be on it's way to becoming the largest wildfire in Texas history.
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