Firefighters in Texas faced rising temperatures, whipped-up winds and dry air Saturday in their battle to keep the largest wildfire in state history from turning more of the Panhandle into a parched wasteland.
Firefighters were focused on containing the fire along its northern and eastern perimeter, where aggressive gusts from the southwest threatened to spread the flames and consume more acreage, according to Jason Nedlo, a spokesperson with the team of firefighters battling the Smokehouse Creek Fire that began Monday and has claimed at least two lives."The main goal is to continue using dozers and fire engines to contain and patrol the fire," Nedlo said.
Nedlo said because of the ongoing weather conditions, it is not possible yet to predict when the flames will be fully contained and brought under control."We'll know more after the weekend ... we're just not willing to speculate," Nedlo said.READ MORE: The largest wildfires in U.S. historyThe cause of the fire remains under investigation, although strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm weather fed the flames.
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