Texas battles second-biggest wildfire in US history

By Phil McCausland & Chloe Kim
BBC News
March 1, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US East

A rapidly spreading Texas wildfire has killed one person, forced residents to evacuate, cut off power to homes and businesses, and briefly paused operations at a nuclear facility. It has burned 1.1 million acres north of the city of Amarillo – making it the second-largest fire in US history. Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties. Dry grass, high temperatures and strong winds have fuelled the blaze, which remains 3% contained. The Smokehouse Creek Fire, as it has been named, has already razed 1.1 million acres – larger than the state of Rhode Island. The West Odessa Fire Department said on Facebook that it “is now both the largest and most destructive fire in Texas History”, surpassing the East Amarillo Complex fire, which burned over 900,000 acres in 2006.

Read More