wildfires

A lack of air support and ineffective coordination hurt efforts to contain this year's Panhandle fires, the committee said.

At least $102 million dollars. That’s just an initial estimate of the hit Panhandle ranchers took after an outbreak of wildfires in late February — including the Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest in state history. Over three days this week, a panel of state lawmakers heard first-hand accounts from affected ranchers and investigators exploring the fire’s origins.

The Smokehouse Creek fire began on Feb. 26 due to a downed electricity pole. The blaze consumed over a million acres, making it the largest wildfire in Texas history. On Thursday, a representative from Xcel Energy's Southwestern Public Service Company testified before a Texas House committee charged with investigating the Panhandle wildfires.

A series of deadly wildfires have burned for nearly three weeks, destroying farms and ranches in several counties.

After more than a week of destruction, including thousands of dead livestock and hundreds of lost structures, firefighters now have two of the largest Texas Panhandle wildfires more under control.

The largest blaze in state history has burned over 1 million acres and is 44% contained.

The Smokehouse Creek Fire has grown to be the largest in state history.

Two people and tens of thousands of cattle have died in the largest wildfire in state history.

Today on Texas Matters: The largest wildfire in Texas history torches over a million acres. How you can help in the recovery. And how the electric co-op movement energized rural Texas.

Firefighters have been deployed to the Texas Panhandle to assist with the Smokehouse Creek Fire, now the largest blaze in state history. The Texas A&M University Forest Service estimated more than 1 million acres have burned.