According to NBC5 Dallas fort worth
A wildfire is rapidly blazing through the Texas panhandle and has become the second largest wildfire in state history.
The fire is making evacuation necessary for many residents and is also compromising the power supply to others.
The Smokehouse Creek Fire began on February 26th within difficult terrain and bad weather, said the Texas A&M Forest Service.
The forest service is estimating that the fire has grown to nearly 500,000 acres and began spreading into Oklahoma the morning of February 28, remaining entirely uncontained.
Authorities have not communicated what ignited the fire, but the natural conditions are conducive to its growth.
60 countries were issued a disaster declaration by Texas governor Greg Abbott.
The fire became concerningly close to a nuclear facility.
The Pantex plant, a facility that has long been used for assembly and disassembly of atomic bombs, evacuated non essential staff on February 27th, but were told they were able to return the following day.
The Smokehouse Creek Fire is one of 5 wildfires currently burning in Texas and is the only one that is completely uncontained.
It is approximately 350 miles away from Albuquerque, the largest city in New Mexico.
The Magenta Fire , with an area of 2,000 acres, is 275 miles away from Albuquerque and is 40% contained.
Even closer to home, on February 27th, the Santa Fe National Forest Managers responded to a wildfire 1 mile north of the Paliza Family Campground.
The fire was estimated to be 2-3 acres and was contained by three engines that were not requesting backup as of 5:45 pm February 27th.
