At least one dead as massive Texas panhandle wildfire grows. What we know

Several massive wildfires have torn though Texas' panhandle this week, and they continue to burn.

Here's what we know.

How did the Texas wildfires start?

The exact cause of the wildfires remains unknown. However, record-high temperatures, "abnormally dry" conditions reported by the National Drought Monitor and strong winds in West Texas have combined for a perfect storm.

The National Weather Service Office - Amarillo took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to urge North Texas to take fire precautions.

"Please start to review and keep in mind fire prevention tips - even if Tuesday doesn't end up with strong winds, we are starting to get into our main fire season," the Feb. 22 post said.

Four wildfires initially drew attention to North Texas Monday, amid a Red Flag Warning issued by the National Weather Service.

How do wildfires start? The natural and artificial causes of wildfires.

Upwards of 60 counties currently have burn bans, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

How do these wildfires compare?

The Smokehouse Creek Fire, which is more than half the size of Rhode Island, is the largest wildfire the state has ever seen, followed by the 2006 Amarillo East Complex fires that claimed 12 lives and burned more than 900,000 acres.

Texas panhandle wildfire now second-largest in state history: See photos, videos of fires

The Smokehouse Creek Fire has forced neighborhoods in the town of Fritch to evacuate, according to the fire coordinator center's site. The fire has also resulted in damaged or lost structures in the area. A shelter has opened in Fritch's Celebration Family Church.

The Windy Deuce fire triggered Pantex Plant, the nation's primary nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility, about 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, to shut down and evacuate Tuesday evening. The plant said in a post on X that fire barriers were being built "to protect plant facilities."

On Wednesday, the facility resumed its normal operations.

Has anyone been injured in the Texas wildfires?

As of Thursday morning, one casualty had been reported in Hutchinson County.

Joyce Blankenship, 83, resided in Stinnett, an hour's drive north of Amarillo. Nathan Blankenship told CBS News his grandmother had died in the Smokehouse Creek fire.

In a briefing Tuesday night, Jerry Langwell, Hutchinson County emergency management coordinator, said people would be “shocked” by the damage from the fires along the 13 miles between the towns of Fritch and Borger.

“I would say 50% of the structures between here and Borger are damaged in some way,” Langwell said during the briefing, broadcast live on Facebook. "There is still many, many fires still burning," he said, and the resources to fight those fires are "very thin."

Mandatory evacuations in effect as Texas wildfires grow

Mandatory evacuations are in effect in more than a half dozen Texas towns, the weather service said. The city of Canadian had been asked to shelter in place and several agencies were sending crews to help protect structures against the advancing flames, according to one of the coordination center updates.

By evening, fire crews were able to place a control line around Canadian to try to protect the town, but officials also warned that the fire had shown the ability to send burning embers over long distances.

More on evacuations: Moore County officials urge evacuations as wildfires continue to grow

The Smokehouse Creek Fire forced evacuations in the cities of Hemphill County, which sits about a hundred miles northeast of Amarillo. Several school districts throughout the country canceled classes for Wednesday.

Texas Gov. Abbott issues disaster declaration

Governor Greg Abbott issued a Wildfire Disaster Declaration on Tuesday, Feb. 27, deploying resources to 60 counties impacted by the fires.

As of 8 a.m. CST Thursday, the Texas A&M Forest Service had responded to 21 requests for assistance on wildfires.

Where are the Texas wildfires? Check this interactive map

The fire tracker provides a map with pinpoint locations of each fire and also shows where red flag warnings are in effect, among other information. You can also click on each point to see detailed information on the fire in that area.

Five wildfires burn thousands of acres in Texas panhandle: Track wildfires in real-time

If you can't see the map above, click on this link.

— USA TODAY reporters Dinah Voyles Pulver, Trevor Hughes and Christopher Cann contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas wildfires update: 1 dead as Smokehouse Creek Fire grows