As many as 23 separate wildfires covered more than a million acres across Texas early this morning, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
The state’s fire preparedness level was raised to a three, meaning outside help from other agencies, regions or states may be required to battle the blazes.
Family members identified an 83-year-old grandmother from the town of Stinnett as the only person confirmed killed from the fires to date. Joyce Blankenship, a former substitute teacher, was found dead in her home, family members said.
The wildfire at Smokehouse Creek is only 3% contained and has covered 850,000 acres — making it bigger than Rhode Island — quickly making it the second-largest blaze in Texas history.
Wildfires, having moved east from the Texas Panhandle, were spreading in Oklahoma. At least 12 fires were burning in the state, covering more than 115,000 acres.
Conditions ripe for more fires are expected Saturday and Sunday. Heat and high winds — forecast to gust at 20 mph to 35 mph — will likely cause “critical fire weather conditions again,” the National Weather Service in Amarillo said.
