The second-largest wildfire in U.S. history, and the largest in state history, is currently sweeping across the Texas Panhandle, burning through an estimated 1.26 million acres of land.
Two people have now been confirmed dead as a result of the blazes. Joyce Blankenship, an 83-year-old grandmother was discovered in the remains of her burned home, while Cindy Owens, an Amarillo woman in her 40s, died Tuesday after she exited her truck for an unknown reason while driving in the Texan city Canadian. Sgt. Chris Ray of the Texas Department of Public Safety said that “the fire simply overtook her,” NBC reported.
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The largest of the fires—which spans around 1.075 million acres—began at Smokehouse Creek and is only 5% contained, as of Friday morning, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. There are now a total of 140 active blazes, with at least 12 fires now burning in the neighboring state of Oklahoma across more than 115,000 acres.
The Windy Deuce Fire in Moore County, which covers an estimated 142,000 acres, has been 55% contained as of Thursday, per the Texas A&M Forest Service. The Magenta Fire in Oldham County, which covers approximately 3,300 acres, is now 85% contained. The 687 Reamer and Grape Vine Creek fires are still active.
With weather conditions expected to fuel the fires over the weekend, evacuations have been ongoing across the region. Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a state of disaster declaration in 60 counties earlier in the week. Citizens of Moore, Potter County, and Hemphill County have been evacuated, in addition to communities in Skellytown, Wheeler, Allison, and Briscoe.
During a visit to the southern border in Brownsville, U.S. President Joe Biden spoke out about the fires, thanking first responders for “risking their lives to save others” and urging locals to heed official warnings.
“When disasters strike, there is no red state or blue state where I come from. There are just communities and families looking for help,” he said, adding that Texas has received $13 billion in relief funding throughout his presidency. He also linked the disaster to environmental concerns, quipping, “I love some of my Neanderthal friends, who still think there’s no climate change.”