‘Devastating’ Wildfires Engulf the Texas Panhandle, Prompting Evacuations

Wildfires raged across the Texas panhandle on Wednesday, prompting a disaster declaration from Gov. Greg Abbott and evacuation orders across the state, and leaving thousands without power.

The second largest blaze in state history was burning in Hutchinson County, where the Smokehouse Creek fire had grown to at least 500,000 acres since emergency personnel first became alerted to it on Monday night, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. The enormous fire, about half as big as the state of Rhode Island, was still 0 percent contained as of Wednesday morning.

The ongoing fires left more than 10,000 Texas residents without power, the majority of which were in Hutchinson County.

Read more at The Daily Beast.