Smokehouse Creek Fire Explained

Smokehouse Creek Fire
Date:February 26, 2024 – March 14, 2024
Location:Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma, United States
Coordinates:35.8478°N -101.4325°W
Reference:[1] [2]
Ongoing:no
Percent Contained:100%
Update Date:March 16, 2024
Area:approx.
Landuse:approx. 2.5% developed
Fatalities:2
Cost:$4,600,570
Cause:Downed power lines due to broken utility pole

The Smokehouse Creek Fire was a record-breaking wildfire affecting the northeastern Texas panhandle and western Oklahoma that started on February 26, 2024. The fire affected numerous communities in Hemphill and Roberts counties, including the town of Canadian.[3] [4], the fire had burned approximately before it was successfully contained,[1] making it the largest wildfire on record in Texas's history (going back to 1988) as well as the largest wildfire in the United States during 2024.[5] It was one of multiple fires during an outbreak of wind-driven wildfires in the Great Plains.

Progression

The Smokehouse Creek Fire began at approximately 2:20 p.m. CST on February 26, 2024, around one mile north of Stinnett, Texas by the intersection of County Road 11 and County Road O. The cause of the fire was downed power lines due to broken utility pole.[6] InciWeb records an ignition time of approximately 2:20 p.m. CST, but a heat signature was visible via the GOES-18 weather satellite as early as 12:56 p.m. As the fire spread to the east, it crossed and engulfed northern portions of a stream called Smokehouse Creek, becoming its namesake.[1] The weather conditions over Texas at the time were highly conducive to the spread of fires, with unusually warm temperatures and gusty conditions prevailing over the region.[7] [8] The area scorched by the fire grew rapidly to within 24 hours of ignition as strong winds fanned the flames eastward.[9]

On February 27, 2024, the fire crossed into Oklahoma with evacuations in Gage and Shattuck from unrelated fires the same day.[10] [11] By the next day, blazes began to spread across the region due to high winds.[12] Following an increase in low-level winds, the fire grew to the second-largest Texas wildfire by the afternoon, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott's disaster declaration stated that 60 counties were affected.[13] Eight hundred and fifty thousand acres were scorched.[14] By 3:00 pm CST, the fire was reported to have burned with only 3% containment. It had become the largest fire in Texas state history, overtaking the East Amarillo Fort Complex Fire in 2006, which burned 907,245 acres and caused 12 fatalities in various Texas Panhandle cities.

Effects

As of March 16, 2024, the Smokehouse Creek fire has destroyed at least 30 houses in the town of Canadian, Texas, and over 100 houses in Hutchinson County, Texas.[15] At least 11,000 people were left without power following the destruction of power lines and miscellaneous infrastructure. Two fatalities, Joyce Blankenship from Stinnett, Texas, and Cindy Owens from Amarillo, Texas, have been confirmed.[5] [16]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Smokehouse Creek Fire Information . March 16, 2024 . . . March 18, 2024.
  2. Web site: Smokehouse Creek - Wildfire and Smoke Map . March 7, 2024 . . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240307000243/https://data.usatoday.com/fires/smokehouse-creek/4a55159b-d06f-4574-a689-cc4cdccdc097/ . March 7, 2024 . March 8, 2024.
  3. Web site: February 27, 2024 . Smokehouse Creek Fire spreads over 40,000 acres; north of Stinnett . February 27, 2024 . Borger News-Herald . en . February 27, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240227224740/https://www.borgernewsherald.com/news/smokehouse-creek-fire-spreads-over-40-000-acres-north-of-stinnett/article_0b9211f6-d53a-11ee-be52-5f6ea6f0d7ef.html . live.
  4. Web site: Gilbert . Mary . Joe . Sutton . February 27, 2024 . An explosive Texas fire more than doubles in size as it threatens towns and forces evacuations . February 27, 2024 . CNN . en . February 27, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240227224333/https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/27/weather/texas-fires-canadian-smokehouse-creek/index.html . live.
  5. News: Sutton . Joe . Almasy . Steve . Yan . Holly . Shackelford . Robert . February 29, 2024 . Deadly Texas wildfire torches 1 million acres – the largest blaze in state history – as more infernos rage out of control . live . February 29, 2024 . . February 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240229065220/https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/29/us/texas-panhandle-smokehouse-creek-fire-thursday/index.html.
  6. Web site: 2024-03-09 . Broken power pole and downed wires caused largest fire in Texas history, investigator says . 2024-06-12 . NBC News . en.
  7. News: Cappucci . Matthew . Potent storm front fans fires in Plains and fuels Midwest tornado threat . subscription . February 29, 2024 . The Washington Post . February 27, 2024.
  8. Web site: Lindstrom . Scott . February 28, 2024 . Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas Panhandle . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240301172825/https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/archives/57431 . March 1, 2024 . March 1, 2024 . CIMSS Satellite Blog . Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies & University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  9. News: Carver . Jayme Lozano . Texas wildfires continue growing as firefighters struggle to contain massive Panhandle blazes . February 29, 2024 . The Texas Tribune . February 28, 2024. February 27, 2024 . Lubbock, Texas.
  10. Web site: Catesby Fire - Wildfire and Smoke Map . 2024-06-12 . The Oklahoman . en.
  11. Web site: Greco . Jonathan . February 27, 2024 . Evacuations underway in northwestern Oklahoma after Texas' 'Smokehouse Creek Fire' crosses state lines . February 27, 2024 . KOCO . en . February 27, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240227222654/https://www.koco.com/article/wildfire-catesby-oklahoma/46995965 . live.
  12. News: Vipers . Gareth . February 28, 2024 . Wildfires Sweep Across Texas Panhandle, Forcing Evacuations – Blazes strengthened by high winds scorch hundreds of thousands of acres . . February 28, 2024 . February 28, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240228133456/https://www.wsj.com/us-news/climate-environment/texas-panhandle-wildfires-oklahoma-evacuations-624ed09b . live.
  13. News: Greco . Jonathan . February 28, 2024 . Wildfires scorch Oklahoma, Texas Panhandle and briefly shut down nuclear weapons facility . . February 28, 2024 . February 28, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240228004055/https://www.wbaltv.com/article/wildfire-catesby-oklahoma/46997037 . live.
  14. News: Ramirez . Rachel . Miller . Brandon . February 28, 2024 . Smokehouse Creek Fire grows, closing in on largest on record in Texas . . . February 28, 2024 . February 28, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240228211931/https://edition.cnn.com/us/live-news/texas-smokehouse-creek-fire-02-27-24/h_921419d354c4edaf517461f594c2c073 . live.
  15. News: Joe Sutton . February 28, 2024 . At least 100 homes impacted in 1 county, neighboring county official says . . . February 28, 2024 . February 28, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240228230654/https://edition.cnn.com/us/live-news/texas-smokehouse-creek-fire-02-27-24/h_d2cd666e32bdfc629793a64bf957caf7 . live.
  16. News: Rebecca Cohen. February 29, 2024 . Texas wildfires live updates: 2 dead in largest blaze in state history . . . March 1, 2024 . March 1, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240301050329/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/texas-wildfires-live-updates-rcna141087 . live.

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