STATEMENT: Largest wildfire in Texas’ history

Smokehouse Creek Fire now one of biggest ever in U.S.

AUSTIN, Texas –The Smokehouse Creek Fire was still running amok through the Texas panhandle and parts of Oklahoma on Thursday evening. It’s the biggest wildfire in Texas’ history and one of the biggest (ed. note — corrected) in U.S. history. The fire has killed at least two people as well as untold crops, farm animals and wildlife. It’s also knocked out more than 100 miles of power lines.

As of early Thursday afternoon, the Smokehouse Creek Fire had burned approximately 1.075 million acres, a larger area than the state of Rhode Island. Including Smokehouse Creek, four of the 10 (ed. note: correction) largest wildfires in U.S. history have happened since 2018, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association.

In response, Environment Texas Executive Director Luke Metzger released the following statement:

“Texas is burning and we have to stop feeding the fire by burning fossil fuels. From the deep freeze of Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 to the spate of fires traversing North Texas this February, the abnormal is the new normal. At best, these climate change-fueled extreme events are major inconveniences. At worst, they’re death-causing or life-changing events.

“It’s time for Texas to take climate change seriously — and take steps to mitigate its worst effects. Foremost, that means weaning ourselves off fossil fuels, transitioning to renewable sources for electric power and cutting way back on the air pollution that warms the atmosphere and makes Texans sick.”