CNN
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Firefighters racing to wrangle the largest blaze in Texas history could get their best chance in days to contain the flames in the wake of a cold front Monday. Hot air and raging winds have fueled the infernos in recent days, reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble and inflicting harrowing injuries upon ranchers’ livestock.
The front arrived Monday morning, bringing an influx of cooler conditions. Breezy winds will taper off early in the afternoon and calmer air will last through Tuesday, giving firefighters a reprieve from the critical fire risk conditions that have aided the wildfires’ explosive spread over the Texas Panhandle.
Since igniting last Monday, the ravenous Smokehouse Creek Fire has incinerated more than 1 million acres of the Texas Panhandle and is still only 15% contained. The fire has killed at least two people and crossed into Oklahoma, where more than 31,000 acres have been burned.
Five fires tearing across the Panhandle have burned as many as 500 homes and businesses, state officials said. A new blaze – the Roughneck Fire – ignited in Hutchinson County on Sunday and prompted evacuations there as crews raced to get resources to the area.
First responders hoped that after the weekend’s severe fire risk, improved conditions in the coming days would allow them to inch closer to containing the infernos, Texas A&M Forest Service spokesperson Jason Nedlo told CNN on Saturday.
But the blazes have so far been thriving on a bounty of fuel, including blankets of grass grown after higher-than-average rainfall this winter.
“There’s a lot of fuel on the ground,” Nedlo said. “When you add high winds and low humidity to high fuel load levels, that’s when you get the conditions that are ripe for large, fast-burning wildfires.”
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Tia Champion and her husband Tim help a friend search the remains of her home near Stinnett, Texas, after it was destroyed by the Smokehouse Creek Fire.
• New fire prompts evacuations: The Roughneck Fire began burning Sunday and has grown to cover about 300 acres of Hutchinson County, which is also the origin site of the Smokehouse Creek Fire. The blaze prompted an evacuation order in the town of Sanford, which began to be lifted later that evening, county officials said. The Texas A&M Forest Service said that the fire’s forward progression had been halted and it was 50% contained as of Monday afternoon.
• Several other fires still burning: The Windy Deuce Fire in Moore County has burned through 144,000 acres and is 55% contained as of Sunday night, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. The Grape Vine Creek Fire in Gray County has torched nearly 35,000 acres and is 60% contained. The Magenta Fire in Oldham County has destroyed 3,297 acres and is 85% contained.
• Significant progress in containing Oklahoma fire: “The Smokehouse Creek Fire perimeter looks good and will be turned back over to local departments tomorrow,” Oklahoma Forestry Services spokesperson Keith Merckx said Sunday. “The fire will be 75% contained by the end of shift today.” The fire has scorched more than 31,500 acres of Oklahoma near its border with Texas.
• Lawsuit alleges fallen power pole caused fire: A woman whose home was destroyed by the Smokehouse Creek Fire is suing Xcel…
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