Wildfire and High Wind in Texas, February 26 to 29, 2024

Multiple wind gusts between 58-61 MPH occurred during this time at the mesonet site located four miles east of Vega. The highest wind gust was 61mph which occurred at 1445 CST.

Several wind gusts of 58 to 62 mph occurred during this time at the mesonet sites near Pantex.

A 59mph wind gust was measured at the mesonet station located two miles west southwest of Clarendon.

This wildfire, named Juliet Pass, occurred along Hwy 207 and Lima Road. The fire was estimated to be about 2963 acres. No records on the cost of the wildfire.

During the morning of Monday, February 26th, a decayed power pole broke at ground level|and caused the three-wire power line atop it to fall and make contact with fine grassy fuels,|igniting what would become the Smokehouse Creek Fire. At approximately 2:20 pm on February 26, 2024, Texas A&M Forest Service received a request for assistance for a wildfire in Hutchinson County. The fire ignited one mile north of Stinnett, Texas and east of Highway 207, with initial fire behavior reported as extremely active in tall grasses due to high winds and low relative humidity. Winds gusting over 40- 50 mph pushed the fire east from Highway 207 approximately 30 miles to Highway 70 north of Pampa, Texas. The fire grew rapidly, moving at estimated speeds of six to eight miles per hour. Approximately 40,000 acres burned on February 27th, expanding to more than 900,000 acres over the next two days. The Smokehouse Creek Fire advanced 95 miles, stretching into Oklahoma. At its widest point, from north to south, the fire measured 35 miles. By the time of containment, an estimated 1.058 million acres had been lost, including approximately 80 percent of Hemphill and Roberts counties, making it the largest wildfire in Texas history. This fire consumed 1,054,153 acres and the estimated cost is around $5,800,000. The total acreage expanded across 5 other counties: Roberts, Hemphill, Carson Gray, and Wheeler. Estimated Acres burned in Hutchinson County with the use of GIS mapping data is 184,509. Estimated population of 279 and estimated housing units of 141 inside the perimeter based on the 2020 census data. At least 40-50 homes were destroyed around Fritch.

During the morning of Monday, February 26th, a decayed power pole broke at ground level and caused the three-wire power line atop it to fall and make contact with fine grassy fuels, igniting what would become the Smokehouse Creek Fire. At approximately 2:20 pm on February 26, 2024, Texas A&M Forest Service received a request for assistance for a wildfire in Hutchinson County. The fire ignited one mile north of Stinnett, Texas and east of Highway 207, with initial fire behavior reported as extremely active in tall grasses due to high winds and low relative humidity. Winds gusting over 40- 50 mph pushed the fire east from Highway 207 approximately 30 miles to Highway 70 north of Pampa, Texas. The fire grew rapidly, moving at estimated speeds of six to eight miles per hour. Approximately 40,000 acres burned on February 27th, expanding to more than 900,000 acres over the next two days. The Smokehouse Creek Fire advanced 95 miles, stretching into Oklahoma. At its widest point, from north to south, the fire measured 35 miles. By the time of containment, an estimated 1.058 million acres had been lost, including approximately 80 percent of Hemphill and Roberts counties, making it the largest wildfire in Texas history. This fire consumed 1,054,153 acres and the estimated cost is around $5,800,000. The total acreage expanded across 5 other counties: Roberts, Hemphill, Carson Gray, and Wheeler. Estimated acres burned in Carson County with the use of GIS mapping data was 12,191. Estimated population of 4 and estimated housing units of 2 inside the perimeter based on the 2020 census data.

During the morning of Monday, February 26th, a decayed power pole broke at ground level and caused the three-wire power line atop it to fall and make contact with fine grassy fuels, igniting what would become the Smokehouse Creek Fire. At approximately 2:20 pm on February 26, 2024, Texas A&M Forest Service received a request for assistance for a wildfire in Hutchinson County. The fire ignited one mile north of Stinnett, Texas and east of Highway 207, with initial fire behavior reported as extremely active in tall grasses due to high winds and low relative humidity. Winds gusting over 40- 50 mph pushed the fire east from Highway 207 approximately 30 miles to Highway 70 north of Pampa, Texas. The fire grew rapidly, moving at estimated speeds of six to eight miles per hour. Approximately 40,000 acres burned on February 27th, expanding to more than 900,000 acres over the next two days. The Smokehouse Creek Fire advanced 95 miles, stretching into Oklahoma. At its widest point, from north to south, the fire measured 35 miles. By the time of containment, an estimated 1.058 million acres had been lost, including approximately 80 percent of Hemphill and Roberts counties, making it the largest wildfire in Texas history. This fire consumed 1,054,153 acres and the estimated cost is around $5,800,000. The total acreage expanded across 5 other counties: Roberts, Hemphill, Carson Gray, and Wheeler. In Gray County, 35,000 acres burned. One home was destroyed. Two fire trucks were damaged, and one was lost.

During the morning of Monday, February 26th, a decayed power pole broke at ground level and caused the three-wire power line atop it to fall and make contact with fine grassy fuels, igniting what would become the Smokehouse Creek Fire. At approximately 2:20 pm on February 26, 2024, Texas A&M Forest Service received a request for assistance for a wildfire in Hutchinson County. The fire ignited one mile north of Stinnett, Texas and east of Highway 207, with initial fire behavior reported as extremely active in tall grasses due to high winds and low relative humidity. Winds gusting over 40- 50 mph pushed the fire east from Highway 207 approximately 30 miles to Highway 70 north of Pampa, Texas. The fire grew rapidly, moving at estimated speeds of six to eight miles per hour. Approximately 40,000 acres burned on February 27th, expanding to more than 900,000 acres over the next two days. The Smokehouse Creek Fire advanced 95 miles, stretching into Oklahoma. At its widest point, from north to south, the fire measured 35 miles. By the time of containment, an estimated 1.058 million acres had been lost, including approximately 80 percent of Hemphill and Roberts counties, making it the largest wildfire in Texas history. This fire consumed 1,054,153 acres and the estimated cost is around $5,800,000. The total acreage expanded across 5 other counties: Roberts, Hemphill, Carson Gray, and Wheeler. Estimated acres burned in Roberts County with the use of GIS mapping data was 437,737. Estimated population of 267 and estimated housing units of 140 inside the perimeter based on the 2020 census data.

Officials estimated 500,000 acres burned in Roberts County. Local officials estimate damage amounts up to $20 million in lost grazing lease revenues for one year alone.

During the morning of Monday, February 26th, a decayed power pole broke at ground level and caused the three-wire power line atop it to fall and make contact with fine grassy fuels, igniting what would become the Smokehouse Creek Fire. At approximately 2:20 pm on February 26, 2024, Texas A&M Forest Service received a request for assistance for a wildfire in Hutchinson County. The fire ignited one mile north of Stinnett, Texas and east of Highway 207, with initial fire behavior reported as extremely active in tall grasses due to high winds and low relative humidity. Winds gusting over 40- 50 mph pushed the fire east from Highway 207 approximately 30 miles to Highway 70 north of Pampa, Texas. The fire grew rapidly, moving at estimated speeds of six to eight miles per hour. Approximately 40,000 acres burned on February 27th, expanding to more than 900,000 acres over the next two days. The Smokehouse Creek Fire advanced 95 miles, stretching into Oklahoma. At its widest point, from north to south, the fire measured 35 miles. By the time of containment, an estimated 1.058 million acres had been lost, including approximately 80 percent of Hemphill and Roberts counties, making it the largest wildfire in Texas history. This fire consumed 1,054,153 acres and the estimated cost is around $5,800,000. The total acreage expanded across 5 other counties: Roberts, Hemphill, Carson Gray, and Wheeler. Estimated acres burned in Hemphill County with the use of GIS mapping data was 404,722. One fatality occurred with this wildfire. A 44 year old truck driver was surrounded by the fire in Hemphill County. She attempted to get out of the truck, and was found later unresponsive and badly burned. She was transported to OKC medical where she passed away 2 days later. Estimated population of 3,178 and estimated housing units of 1,528 inside the perimeter based on the 2020 census data.

According to an AgriLife Agent for Hemphill County, 76 homes in or around Canadian burned to the ground or were heavily damaged. Over 7,000 cows (out of 23,000 in the county) were killed, and an estimated 15 20 percent of the remaining cows were likely harvested due to burned hooves, udders, and body parts. Hundreds of water wells were destroyed. Thousands of native trees have been lost. Over 400,000 acres burned in the county, destroying or compromising over 2,500 miles of fencing.|Preliminary estimates based on information from the Hemphill County Appraisal District placed the value of lost homes at $35 million, the value of other structures lost at $13 million, and the value of other real property lost at $175 million.

During the morning of Monday, February 26th, a decayed power pole broke at ground level and caused the three-wire power line atop it to fall and make contact with fine grassy fuels, igniting what would become the Smokehouse Creek Fire. At approximately 2:20 pm on February 26, 2024, Texas A&M Forest Service received a request for assistance for a wildfire in Hutchinson County. The fire ignited one mile north of Stinnett, Texas and east of Highway 207, with initial fire behavior reported as extremely active in tall grasses due to high winds and low relative humidity. Winds gusting over 40- 50 mph pushed the fire east from Highway 207 approximately 30 miles to Highway 70 north of Pampa, Texas. The fire grew rapidly, moving at estimated speeds of six to eight miles per hour. Approximately 40,000 acres burned on February 27th, expanding to more than 900,000 acres over the next two days. The Smokehouse Creek Fire advanced 95 miles, stretching into Oklahoma. At its widest point, from north to south, the fire measured 35 miles. By the time of containment, an estimated 1.058 million acres had been lost, including approximately 80 percent of Hemphill and Roberts counties, making it the largest wildfire in Texas history. This fire consumed 1,054,153 acres and the estimated cost is around $5,800,000. The total acreage expanded across 5 other counties: Roberts, Hemphill, Carson Gray, and Wheeler. Estimated acres burned in Wheeler County with the use of GIS mapping data was 5,319. Estimated population of 12 and estimated housing units of 5 inside the perimeter based on the 2020 census data.

The mesonet site located two miles north of Texline measured a wind gust of 60mph.

At approximately 3:10 pm on February 26, 2024, Texas A&M Forest service received a request for assistance for a wildfire in Gray County. This fire was named the Grape Vine Creek Fire. The fire started 9.5 miles southwest of Lefors, Texas. The fire burned a total of 34,883 acres and cost an estimated $234,000. It wasn't contained until March 10th around 2:44pm CST. According to a state of Texas report on the wildfires, a three-wire power pole located in Gray County, just to the south of Pampa, broke and crashed to the ground, bringing the wires in contact with fine grassy fuels and ignited the Grape Vine Creek Fire.

The mesonet site located two miles northwest of Hereford measured a 60mph wind gust.

The mesonet site located three miles southeast of Dumas measured a wind gust of 61mph.

The mesonet site located one mile to the north-northwest of Stinnett measured a wind gust of 59mph.

This fire was named the Windy Deuce Fire. It started on private land six miles east of Masterson, TX and was comprised of grass and brush. The Windy Deuce Fire began at the location of a small pumpjack serviced by one power pole with three distribution lines. The power lines traveled through the top of a small tree on the pad site where they contacted several small limbs, starting the fire. The fire jumped across the southern edge of Lake Meredith, destroying numerous homes on the south side of|the town of Fritch and threatening the town of Borger. Several communities were threatened by this fire as well as water and power infrastructure. This fire expanded to a small portion of Hutchinson County, Potter County, and Carson County. The fire burned 144,045 acres and the estimated cost is $4,100,000. The southern extent approached just outside of northwest Amarillo. Estimated acres burned in Moore County with the use of GIS mapping data was 8,138.

This fire was named the Windy Deuce Fire. It started on private land six miles east of Masterson, TX and was comprised of grass and brush. The Windy Deuce Fire began at the location of a small pumpjack serviced by one power pole with three distribution lines. The power lines traveled through the top of a small tree on the pad site where they contacted several small limbs, starting the fire. The fire jumped across the southern edge of Lake Meredith, destroying numerous homes on the south side of|the town of Fritch and threatening the town of Borger. Several communities were threatened by this fire as well as water and power infrastructure. This fire expanded to a small portion of Hutchinson County, Potter County, and Carson County. The fire burned 144,045 acres and the estimated cost is $4,100,000. The southern extent approached just outside of northwest Amarillo. Estimated acres burned in Hutchinson County with the use of GIS mapping data was 3,466. This includes an estimated population of 495 and estimated housing units of 247 inside the perimeter based on the 2020 census data.

This fire was named the Windy Deuce Fire. It started on private land six miles east of Masterson, TX and was comprised of grass and brush. The Windy Deuce Fire began at the location of a small pumpjack serviced by one power pole with three distribution lines. The power lines traveled through the top of a small tree on the pad site where they contacted several small limbs, starting the fire. The fire jumped across the southern edge of Lake Meredith, destroying numerous homes on the south side of|the town of Fritch and threatening the town of Borger. Several communities were threatened by this fire as well as water and power infrastructure. This fire expanded to a small portion of Hutchinson County, Potter County, and Carson County. The fire burned 144,045 acres and the estimated cost is $4,100,000. The southern extent approached just outside of northwest Amarillo. Estimated Acres burned in Potter County with the use of GIS mapping data was 60,333. Estimated population of 3 and estimated housing units of 5 inside the perimeter based on the 2020 census data.

This fire was named the Windy Deuce Fire. It started on private land six miles east of Masterson, TX and was comprised of grass and brush. The Windy Deuce Fire began at the location of a small pumpjack serviced by one power pole with three distribution lines. The power lines traveled through the top of a small tree on the pad site where they contacted several small limbs, starting the fire. The fire jumped across the southern edge of Lake Meredith, destroying numerous homes on the south side of|the town of Fritch and threatening the town of Borger. Several communities were threatened by this fire as well as water and power infrastructure. This fire expanded to a small portion of Hutchinson County, Potter County, and Carson County. The fire burned 144,045 acres and the estimated cost is $4,100,000. The southern extent approached just outside of northwest Amarillo. Estimated Acres burned in Carson County with the use of GIS mapping data was 70,215. Estimated population of 537 and estimated housing units of 248 inside the perimeter based on the 2020 census data.

A mesonet station located 8 miles west of Lipscomb measured multiple wind gusts in excess of 58 mph. The peak gust measured was 68 mph at 1125CST.

A mesonet station located near Sunray measured multiple wind gusts between 58 and 63 mph during the late morning and early afternoon hours. Sustained winds exceeded 40 mph at this time as well.

Multiple wind gusts between 58 and 65 mph were measured by the mesonet station located near Texline.

A couple of mesonet stations and an AWOS located at the Dumas airport measured wind gusts in excess of 58 mph across the county during this time. The peak gust measured was 70 mph, measured by the mesonet 3 miles SE of Dumas at 1119CST.

The ASOS located at the Dalhart airport measured multiple wind gusts exceeding 58 mph during this time with a peak gust of 68 mph.

A couple of mesonet stations located in the county measured multiple wind gusts in excess of 58 mph with a peak gusts of 63 mph during this time.

The ASOS located at the Amarillo airport and a mesonet station located in the county measured multiple wind gusts in excess of 58 mph during this time. The peak gust was 62mph, and sustained winds were in excess of 40 mph during the late morning and early afternoon as well.

A couple of mesonet stations located in the county measured multiple wind gusts between 58 and 61 mph during the late morning and early afternoon hours. Sustained winds were in excess of 40 mph at this time as well.

Multiple ground stations, mostly mesonets, measured several wind gusts between 58 mph and 67 mph. Sustained winds even exceeded 40 mph during this time.

The Borger ASOS measured mutliple gusts exceeding 58 mph with a peak gust of 64 mph. Multiple mesonet stations in the county also measured several wind gusts exceeding 58 mph with a peak gust of 65 mph.

Multiple mesonet sites located in the county measured several wind gusts between 58 and 62 mph during this time.

A 58mph wind gust was measured by the mesonet site located nine miles northwest of Waka.

A 58mph wind gust was measured at the mesonet site located three miles west of Dozier.

Multiple wind gusts between 58 and 62 mph were measured by two different mesonet stations and one AWOS in Hereford during this time.

Two mesonet sites located in the county measured multiple gusts exceeding 58 mph with a peak gust of 70 mph during this time. Sustained winds also surpassed 40 mph.

The 687 Reamer fire started 7.6 miles south of Stinnett and grew to 2000 acres. The fire was initially reported at 1:23pm but not reported to Texas Forest Service until after 10:30pm. It was within close proximity to the Smokehouse creek fire and did eventually merge into that fire. This fire was caused when a broken power pole led to utility wires coming into contact with fuels on the ground. There is no estimated cost of this fire. but there was a one fatality. An 83 year old woman was trapped in her home that became engulfed in flames around the town of Stinnett. The fire was noted 100 percent contained on a March 1st sit rep report.

The Magenta Fire ignited just before a cold front came through on Feb 27th. The fire was located just north of the town of Boys Ranch, or seven miles to the south of Channing along US Highway 385. The fire was held to 3297 acres. The fire was contained by March 5th. The cause of the fire was undetermined.