(CNN) –– Out-of-control wildfires threaten Northwest Texas cities and force residents to evacuate.
The Smokehouse Creek Fire has doubled in size and has burned about 40,500 hectares since it started Monday afternoon, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
The fire is being driven by gusty winds as well as dry and unusually warm conditions. The fire moves so fast that it burns about a football field per second.
Evacuation orders were issued for areas of Hemphill and Roberts counties early Tuesday morning as the flames approached populated areas. The area includes the city of Canadian, Texas, about an hour and a half northeast of Amarillo, Texas.
Parts of Fritch, Texas, including Roberts and Hutchinson counties north of Amarillo, are also under evacuation orders for other fires, city officials and the Texas Forest Service warned.
Moore County Emergency Management Coordinator Tommy Brooks told CNN that about 100 people will be under evacuation orders.
A strong cold front is expected to move into the area on Tuesday night and change wind direction, allowing the fire to spread in new directions.
More than 11 million people in the central and southern United States are under red flag warnings this Tuesday, as spring-like heat, strong winds and dry air create dangerous conditions for fires.
In fact, Texas and Oklahoma are at the center of some of the most dangerous situations.
Similar dry, hot and windy conditions sparked several wildfires in northwest Texas on Monday.
A wildfire broke out in LeForce, Texas on February 27, 2024. (Credit: KFDA)
As of Monday, 13 wildfires have burned at least 31,215 hectares in Texas, according to the Forest Service. Most of the damage was caused by four fires in the northwest part of the state: the Smokehouse Creek Fire, the Grapevine Creek Fire, the Windy Deuce Fire, and the Juliet Pass Fire.
Four fires were still burning this Tuesday. However, three of them are difficult to contain as the erratic behavior of the fire with wind gusts of 64 km/h to 96 km/h challenges the firefighters.
As of this Tuesday afternoon, this is how the fire progressed:
- Smokehouse Creek Fire: 40,468 hectares burned (0% contained)
- Grapevine Creek Fire: 12,140 hectares burned (15% contained)
- Windy Deuce Fire: 3,237 hectares burned (20% contained)
- The Juliet Pass fire was 90% contained on Tuesday afternoon after burning about 1,200 hectares.
A cold front is expected to improve weather conditions fueling the fire on Wednesday. Winds in northwest Texas may remain strong for a short time early Wednesday, but are expected to gradually calm by Wednesday night.
Temperatures will also drop in Texas, replacing Tuesday’s highs of 25 and 32 degrees Celsius with lows of 10, 15 and 21 degrees Celsius.
However, with some wet weather forecast for the weekend, firefighters will have no help from the ground.
CNN’s Andy Rose contributed to this report.
