Texas Border Warning Issued Over Wildfire Threat

National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists issued a red flag warning for some Texas communities along the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday, prompting fears that a wildfire could spread quickly in the region if ignited.

Wildfires ignited in the Texas Panhandle in late February and continue to burn. As of Thursday, the fires had burned over 1.2 million acres. A single blaze in Hutchinson County, the Smokehouse Creek Fire, has scorched nearly 1,059,000 acres alone as of Thursday and is 74 percent contained by firefighters, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. On Tuesday, the fire was only 37 percent contained.

This fire is now the largest in Texas history, overtaking the previous record-holder, 2006’s 900,000-acre East Amarillo Complex Fire.

Fears are high that new fires could start further south in the state. Weather conditions are ideal for wildfires in the Corpus Christi and San Antonio areas, according to a red flag warning issued by the NWS on Friday morning.

“The National Weather Service in Corpus Christi has issued a Red Flag Warning for the Rio Grande Plains, which is in effect from 10 AM this morning to 4 PM CST this afternoon,” it said.

According to the warning, northwest winds are blowing 25 miles per hour in the area with gusts up to 35 miles per hour. The relative humidity is as low as 12 percent, and temperatures will reach up to 89 degrees.

“Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly,” the warning said. “Outdoor burning is not recommended.”

NWS meteorologist Tyler Castillo told Newsweek that a thunderstorm is on the leading edge of the winds north of San Antonio.

“Those will continue through the morning hours, with a chance of showers and thunderstorms,” Castillo said. “Behind that line, stronger northwesterly winds with the drier air is pushing into the area.”

Castillo said it’s not uncommon to see drier conditions and strong winds in Texas during the late winter and springtime. The NWS issues a red flag warning when “critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now…or will shortly.”

“A combination of strong winds…low relative humidity…and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior,” the NWS said. “Avoid activities that could inadvertently cause a wildfire.”

A red flag warning was in place in late February, just before the wildfires started in the Panhandle after Texas experienced abnormally high temperatures, high winds, and low relative humidity.

Photos and videos of the wildfire devastation in the Texas Panhandle have been spread across social media.

Burn scars are visible from NASA satellites, and thousands of livestock have died as the fires continue to rage. More than 85 percent of the state’s livestock lives in the Texas Panhandle, where the fires are burning, according to CNN.