Wildfires may have destroyed as many as 500 structures in the Texas Panhandle and that number could rise as damage assessments continue, Republican Gov. Greg…
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says up to 500 structures may have been destroyed by wildfires, though that number is expected to changeThe Smokehouse Creek fire ignited in the Panhandle on Monday in rough terrain and unfavorable weather conditions and spread with alarming speed.
“When you look at the damages that have occurred here it’s just gone, completely gone nothing left but ashes on the ground,” Abbott said at a news conference in Borger, Texas. Already, the Smokehouse Creek fire has killed two people and left behind a desolate landscape of scorched prairie, dead cattle and burned-out homes in the rural Texas Panhandle. The largest of several major fires burning in the area, it has also crossed into Oklahoma.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller estimated the cattle deaths would be in the thousands, with more likely to come. Firefighting crews were focused on the northern side of the fire, according to Texas A&M Forest Service spokesperson Juan Rodriguez. Cindy Owen was driving in Texas' Hemphill County south of Canadian on Tuesday afternoon when she encountered fire or smoke, said Sgt. Chris Ray of the state's Department of Public Safety. She got out of her truck, and flames overtook her.Snow covers a home that was destroyed by the Smokehouse Creek fire in Stinnett, Texas on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.
“When disasters strike, there’s no red states or blue states where I come from,” Biden said. “Just communities and families looking for help.”Wyatt Bishop helps clean up the Sanchez residence in the snow, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Canadian, Texas.The weekend forecast and “sheer size and scope” of the blaze are the biggest challenges for firefighters, said Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
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