(C) Common Dreams
This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
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Texas Fires Span Over 1.2 Million Acres. Here Is What We Know. [1]
['Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs', 'Jacey Fortin', 'Anna Betts']
Date: 2024-03
The Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest on record in Texas, has burned more than one million acres in the state’s Panhandle and continues to pose challenges for firefighters, who have not yet been able to contain it fully.
The blaze is 74 percent contained, fire officials said on Thursday, meaning that they believe a majority of the fire’s perimeter is hemmed in and that the fire will no longer spread. Much of the fire had been put out, but firefighters were worried that strong winds could still fuel powerful flare-ups.
The fire is already one of the largest in U.S. history. It has devastated cattle ranches, killing thousands of cows and other animals, and it has killed at least two people as it has raced across dry grasslands and consumed homes.
On Thursday, Xcel Energy, a utility company, said that its power equipment appeared to have caused the fire. A lawsuit had claimed that one of the company’s utility poles, near Stinnett, Texas, had been blown over by strong winds and then sparked the initial blaze.
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[1] Url:
https://www.nytimes.com/article/texas-smokehouse-creek-fire.html
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