Radio France International (RFI)

Texas I encountered this Thursday biggest forest fire in historywho left two dead and this is difficult to control, in the conditions of the catastrophe that the American president said, Joe Bidendue to effects changing of the climate.

According to the Texas Forest Service, five fires they stayed “resources”located in the north of the state, in an area known as the Panhandle (Spanish for Panhandle), so named because of the shape of the square area at the top on the map.

The largest active focus, called Smokehouse Creekdevastated some 435,000 ha and it was contained to only 5% of its territory, and also affected part of the neighboring state of Oklahoma. It is the largest wildfire recorded in Texas history, surpassing the fire known as the East Amarillo Complex, which officials say burned 371,000 hectares in March 2006. This major incident collided with another incident in the 800-hectare 687 Reamer area on Thursday.

The Texas Forest Service was hoping for better luck in the fight thanks to favorable conditions during the rest of the winter in that part of the globe, which brought rain and snow to some affected areas. “Fire activity today (Thursday) will not be as resilient to suppression efforts as Monday and Tuesday,” the service said on social media site X.

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Forecasts for the weekend call for dry and warm weather, as well as wind – a favorable cocktail for the weather. fire spreadso the firefighters advance on time.

Without precedents

The latest Forest Service report states that a total of 509,800 ha usedcounting 11 more incidents in north, northeast and east Texas that have already been contained (burning but not advancing) and a dozen more already under control.

A A 44-year-old woman died, after the car he was driving was surrounded by flames in the Smokehouse Creek area on Tuesday. She was rescued and taken to a hospital, but died a short time later, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman, cited by several local media outlets.

In the town of Stinnett, not far from the largest fire, the body of an 83-year-old woman was found, Deirdre Thomas, a spokeswoman for the Hutchinson County Emergency Management Agency, which owns the town, told the press. A spokeswoman said the fire destroyed about 20 properties in Stinnett.

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This was announced by Turkey Track Ranch administrators. They lost 80% of their property. with an area of ​​32,000 hectares, close to the area of ​​the largest fire. “We believe the loss of livestock, crops and wildlife, and other infrastructure on our property, as well as other ranches and homes in the region, is unparalleled in our history,” they said in a statement quoted by the network. ABC.

Changing of the climate

US President Joe Biden on Thursday toured areas affected by fires and offered federal assistanceboth at the firefighting contingent level and at the budget level to support Texas and Oklahoma.

Authorities said hot and dry conditions caused by high temperatures as well as strong winds played a role in the fire. Although the reasons are still being clarified.

Several cities in the USA and Canada have recorded record temperatures in February, and some even experienced summer heat. According to experts, this is due not only to climate change, but also to the El Niño phenomenon. “I like some of my Neanderthal friends who still think climate change doesn’t exist.”, Biden said. during a visit to the southern US border.

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Some affected residential areas in Borger have already begun to be cleaned up, according to the county on social media. Some communities are still without electricity because fires have burned out power lines or there is no water, and their residents remain in shelters.

Meteorologist from cnn Chad Myers said Tuesday that the Smokehouse Creek fire He moved at the speed of “two American football fields per second.”. The state of Texas issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties on Tuesday, freeing up resources to fight the fires.

(RFI)