Pictured: Texas firefighters battle massive blaze that has doubled in size in 24 hours
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
A rapidly growing wildfire in Texas doubled in size on Tuesday and prompted evacuation orders as strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably high temperatures fuelled the blaze in the state’s rural Panhandle.
Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties as the largest fire burned more than 300 square miles, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
That is more than twice its size since the the fire sparked on Monday. Authorities have not said what might have caused the blaze, which tore through sparsely populated counties surrounded by rolling plains.
The largest blaze, known as the Smokehouse Creek Fire, closed highways and remained 0 per cent contained as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Forest Service.
It is already the sixth largest fire in the state’s history.
“Texans are urged to limit activities that could create sparks and take precautions to keep their loved ones safe,” Mr Abbott said.
Multiple fires were reported across Hemphill and Hutchinson counties, near the Oklahoma border. Texas state senator Kevin Sparks said an evacuation order was issued for the town of Canadian, which has a population of about 2,000 and is about 100 miles northeast of Amarillo.
The National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings and fire danger alerts for several other states through the midsection of the United States, as high winds of over 40 mph combined with warm temperatures, low humidity and dry winter vegetation to make conditions ripe for wildfires.
In central Nebraska, mower sparked a prairie fire that has burned an area of grassland roughly the size of the state’s largest city of Omaha, state officials said on Tuesday.
