SANFORD, Texas – Firefighters continue to battle the monster Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas panhandle on Sunday and a new fire is threatening another small community in the region.
03/03/2024 @ 5:20 PM: A wildfire has recently popped up near Sanford Yake Rd and EVACUATION is CONFIRMED for the City of Sanford at this time. "Dangerous wildfire near Sanford. Evacuate down FM 1319 to Celebration Church in Fritch" #phwx #txwx
— NWS Amarillo (@NWSAmarillo) March 3, 2024
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The National Weather Service in Amarillo confirmed a new wildfire has popped up near the City of Sanford Sunday afternoon and evacuations are taking place. Sanford is a small town located near Lake Meredith in the Texas panhandle.
Alert: Texas A&M Forest Service is responding to a request for assistance in Hutchinson County on the #RoughneckFire. The fire is an estimated 50 acres and 0% contained. Evacuations are underway in Sanford. Aircraft and ground resources are responding at this time. #txfire pic.twitter.com/XodhFhKu87
— Incident Information - Texas A&M Forest Service (@AllHazardsTFS) March 3, 2024
The Texas A&M Forest Service said the fire has been designated the Roughneck Fire, and is estimated to be 300 acres at this time. Crews are working to battle the blaze and it is currently 25% contained. Forward progression of the fire has stopped as of 9 p.m.
Update: the #RoughneckFire in Hutchinson County is an estimated 300 acres and 25% contained. Forward progression is stopped. Crews completed a firing operation and heavy equipment are working to improve and widen line around the fire. #txfire
— Incident Information - Texas A&M Forest Service (@AllHazardsTFS) March 4, 2024
📸 TIFMAS/City of New Braunfels FD pic.twitter.com/VN8mWNubkH
Meanwhile, crews continue to work against the Smokehouse Creek Fire, which is the largest wildfire in the state’s history.
Texas Panhandle Update - March 3, 2024 - 8:30 a.m. Blue Team Operations Section Chief Mike Brod provides a morning briefing on fire activity and activities planned for the next operational period. The Southern Area Blue Team assumed management of the Smokehouse Creek Fire, Windy Deuce Fire, Grape Vine Creek Fire, on March 1, 2024, working in unified command with the Texas A&M Forest Service, the National Park Service, and local county judges. For information about active and recently contained wildfires, visit the Texas A&M Forest Service Incident Viewer: tfswildfires.com/public Frequent incident updates can be found on the Incident Information Twitter page: twitter.com/AllHazardsTFS For information about the Current Wildfire Situation visit: tfsweb.tamu.edu/CurrentSituation
Posted by Incident Information - Texas A&M Forest Service on Sunday, March 3, 2024
At least two people have died in the fire, and it has burned more than one million acres.
On Sunday, Blue Team Operations Chief Mike Brod with the Texas A&M Forest Service said officials are also monitoring critical weather conditions that favor the spread of wildfires.
Brod said firefighters continued to attack the Smokehouse Creek Fire, Windy Deuce Fire, and the Grape Vine Creek Fire on Saturday.
There was a lot of activity in the southern area of the Smokehouse Creek Fire as well.
“Our resources did a great job responding to these flare ups, (and) keeping the perimeters small. We did use aviation assets,” Brod said.
The Texas A&M Forest Service said they conducted heat detection flights Saturday to find hot spots for the three wildfires, and they are ready for any flareups on Sunday.
The forest service shared an update in the fight against all the different fires in the panhandle on Sunday on its Facebook page.