Nearly 5,000 residents in the Panhandle cities of Canadian, Fritch and Glazier have been ordered to shelter in place as four separate wildfires burn more than 230,000 acres. Evacuation efforts were hindered as the main roadway was blocked by the fire.
Officials have ordered nearly 5,000 residents in the Panhandle cities of Canadian, Fritch and Glazier to shelter in place Tuesday as four separate wildfires engulfed the region, burning more than 230,000 acres. Residents in Hemphill County , where Canadian is, were initially told to evacuate as the Smokehouse Creek fire — the largest of the four — spread and burned more than 200,000 acres within a day.
As firefighters worked to contain the fire in Canadian, about 100 miles northeast of Amarillo, evacuation efforts hit a snag as the main roadway was blocked by the fire. Shortly after the mandatory order was announced, the Hemphill County Sheriff’s Office shared on social media that Highway 60/83 was shut down. The sheriff’s office instructed residents to go to the gym at Canadian High School to shelter in place. “Having them all in one place is the safest option at this time,” said Stephanie Purcell, a representative for the sheriff’s offic
Wildfires Texas Panhandle Evacuation Shelter In Place Hemphill County