Disaster record
Smokehouse Creek Fire (February 2024) — Texas Panhandle
Two years after the disaster 2 deaths $123 million
Summary
The Smokehouse Creek Fire started north of Stinnett, Texas, on February 26, 2024, and became the largest wildfire in Texas history. It burned about 1.06 million acres across the Panhandle and into western Oklahoma. Towns including Stinnett, Fritch, and Canadian, Texas, were evacuated. Two civilians died. Windy Deuce and other same-week Panhandle fires are part of this disaster.
Two people died: Joyce Blankenship and Cindy Owen. Some officials counted a third, Fritch Volunteer Fire Chief Zeb Smith. County emergency managers said his death was not this fire. This record counts two. Unchanged through February 27, 2026.
Scientific attribution
A wet 2023 growing season grew a lot of grass. Then record February heat, low humidity, and strong winds dried that grass in days. Scientists said warming made the fuels dry faster. That does not mean climate change was the only cause. There was no World Weather Attribution study of this fire. This was not a drought story.
Feb 27, 2024 · Texas Panhandle — Hutchinson, Roberts, and Hemphill counties, including Stinnett, Fritch, and Canadian, Texas — into western Oklahoma · wildfire
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Messaging tallies
About these tallies
“Core Democratic Officials reviewed” shows how many of the 54 Core Democratic Officials have been examined for this disaster. Scoring rules: Methods.
Democratic framing
Summary
No Core Democratic Official named this fire in the seven-day window. Climate connection is no. Republican obstruction of climate action is no.
Texas has no Democratic U.S. senators. Sen. Tom Carper said on February 29 that “our planet is on fire.” That was a generic climate line on an unrelated vote. He did not name this fire, Texas, or the Panhandle.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse named this fire, climate risk, and Republican mockery of climate warnings on March 20, after the window closed.
Statements
- Sheldon Whitehouse (U.S. Senator (D-RI)) — Mar 20, 2024 Out of window
Republican framing
Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 Texas counties on February 27, 2024, and sent more state fire resources to the Panhandle. He named the wildfires. He did not mention climate change.
Sen. Ted Cruz visited Fritch on March 4, inside the seven-day window. His March 7 Senate floor speech and Sens. Cruz and John Cornyn’s March 8 letter asking the Small Business Administration to join damage assessments are after noon on March 5.
Statements
- Greg Abbott (Governor of Texas) — Feb 27, 2024
Sources
- Preliminary Texas Panhandle wildfire agriculture losses top $123 million, costliest in state history — Texas A&M AgriLife Today
- House Interim Committee on the Panhandle Wildfires — Final Report — Texas House of Representatives
- February 26th through 27th, 2024: Megafires — National Weather Service Amarillo
- Whitehouse: Climate Change is Threatening the Outdoor Recreation Industry — U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget
- Texas Wildfires - 2024 — USDA NASS Disaster Monitoring Team
- Climate context of the February 2024 megafire outbreak in Texas — NOAA Climate.gov
- How a warming climate is setting the stage for fast-spreading, destructive wildfires — CNN
- Texas wildfires: Panhandle fire grows to largest in state history — Associated Press
- How Texas’s Smokehouse Creek Wildfire Just Grew into the Largest in State History — Scientific American
- Texas Panhandle wildfire grows into one of largest in state's history — Associated Press
- Texas wildfires burn more than a million acres, still raging — The Texas Tribune
- Governor Abbott Issues Disaster Declaration For Texas Wildfires — Office of the Texas Governor
- Live updates: Texas Panhandle Smokehouse Creek Fire — CNN
- Texas Panhandle wildfire expands rapidly, prompting evacuations — PBS NewsHour (AP)