Wildfires in Texas continue to sweep across the panhandle: See map of devastation
Wildfires in the Texas panhandle are showing little sign of slowing down. One of the fires, the Smokehouse Creek Fire, has grown to 850,000 acres and is now the second largest in the state's history.
The disaster has prompted Gov. Greg Abbott to upgrade the Texas State Emergency Operations Center readiness level to allow more resources to be deployed to the impacted areas.
The Texas A&M Forest Service said Wednesday the "fire environment will relax beginning Wednesday through Friday" but that the potential for wildfire activity will increase for the Plains on Saturday and more so on Sunday "when strong winds are possible across West Texas."
As of 12:30 p.m. local time Wednesday, the forest service estimated there were 64 counties with burn bans in place, six active wildfires and two contained wildfires.
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Where are the Texas wildfires?
According to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, a USA TODAY network site in Lubbock, Texas, there are currently five active fires in the Texas Panhandle region.
- Smokehouse Creek — Hutchinson County, 850,000 acres, 3% contained
- Windy Deuce Fire — Moore County, 142,000 acres, 30% containment
- Grape Vine Creek Fire — Gray County, 30,000 acres, 60% containment
- Magenta — Oldham County, 2,500 acres, 40% containment
- 687 Reamer — Hutchinson County, 2,000 acres, 10% containment
Map of Texas wildfires
Texas air quality map
As of 6 a.m. CST, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is reporting the air quality in Amarillo and Lubbock to be good.
Contributing: Mateo Rosiles, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
