Flower Mound firefighters helping to battle Panhandle wildfires
FLOWER MOUND, Texas - Members of the Flower Mound Fire Department are heading west to help crews battle a series of wildfires in the Texas Panhandle.
Currently, there are five fires torching land in the Panhandle.
The Smokehouse Creek Fire, located north of Amarillo, is the biggest and has not been contained at all.
It has doubled in size since sparking on Monday and is now burning 300,000 acres.
It’s already on the record for being one of the most destructive fires in Texas.
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The four others that are burning are much smaller at 2,000 to 40,000 acres. But only one is more than 50% contained.
These fires have forced some evacuations in the area.
"I am very sorry for the homes that are already loss and the ones we’re going to lose. But man, you’ve gotta go," said Tara Huff, the editor of the Eagle Press.
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A rapidly widening Texas wildfire doubled in size Tuesday and prompted evacuation orders in at least one small town as strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm highs fueled the blaze in the state’s rural Panhandle.
Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a disaster declaration for 60 Texas counties as crews battle the flames.
Flower Mound sent three firefighters from its wildland team and one brush truck to help.
Firefighters in Greenville, in Hunt County, were also deployed to help.
Authorities have not said what may have caused the fires.
They’re hoping cooler temperatures and a chance of rain will help with containment.