These red flag weather condition conditions assisted fuel wildland fires that tore through meadows and pastures, harmed homes, and eliminated cattle.Fire Detection and AnalysisNASA satellites very first discovered fires in the region on February 24, with widespread fire activity emerging on February 26 and 27. By March 5, the Smokehouse Creek fire had actually charred more than 1 million acres (4,000 square kilometers), making it the largest fire on record in Texas. Several other neighboring fires raved in the Panhandle at the very same time, consisting of the Windy Deuce fire, Grape Vine Creek fire, and Magenta fire. “The straight edges in the burn scar normally show that an edge of some sort was protected by fighters, often roadways or trails, but often a tilled or bladed line in grasslands,” discussed Carol Baldwin, a fire researcher with the Great Plains Fire Science Exchange.”As of March 5, the Smokehouse Creek fire was 37 percent included and the Windy Deuce fire was 55 percent included, fire officials reported on InciWeb.
Satellite picture of the burn scar left on the Texas Panhandle landscape captured on March 2, 2024, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASAs Terra satellite.Ranchers in the Texas Panhandle just recently faced a fire that charred more than 1 million acres.The Texas Panhandle is a sparsely populated area of rolling hills, oil and gas wells, and grazing lands. By some estimates, 85 percent of the 12 million livestock raised in Texas survive on ranches in the Panhandle.Following a period of record winter heat, a storm system carrying dry, gusty winds moved through the area in late February and early March. These red flag climate condition assisted fuel wildland fires that tore through pastures and meadows, harmed homes, and eliminated cattle.Fire Detection and AnalysisNASA satellites very first detected fires in the region on February 24, with widespread fire activity emerging on February 26 and 27. By March 5, the Smokehouse Creek fire had charred more than 1 million acres (4,000 square kilometers), making it the largest fire on record in Texas. Several other nearby fires raged in the Panhandle at the exact same time, consisting of the Windy Deuce fire, Grape Vine Creek fire, and Magenta fire. Together, the 4 fires had charred more than 1.24 million acres by March 5, according to data published by InciWeb.On March 2, 2024, the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASAs Terra satellite got this false-color image (bands 7-2-1) of the burn scar left on the Panhandle landscape. Many burned areas appear dark brown. In parts of the scar along the Canadian River, the fire exposed sandy deposits that appear light brown.On the exact same day, the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 captured a more in-depth view (below) of part of the burn scar left by the Windy Deuce fire. The image reveals charred landscapes around Fritch and Lake Meredith. Among the areas that burned were grazing lands, park lands, and locations with oil and gas advancement. The small white squares are drill pads.Satellite image of part of the burn scar left by the Windy Deuce fire March 2, 2024, by the Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8. Some parts of the burn scar noticeable in the Landsat image were likely brought on by backfires– blazes lit ahead of the fire front to help secure important locations such as homes, oil infrastructure, or farm facilities. “The straight edges in the burn scar normally suggest that an edge of some sort was protected by fighters, frequently roadways or trails, however in some cases a tilled or bladed line in grasslands,” described Carol Baldwin, a fire researcher with the Great Plains Fire Science Exchange. “A backfire is lit along the road and allowed to approach the wildfire, hence depriving it of fuel and motivating it to go out.”Red flag warnings and grass fires prevail in the Texas Panhandle in late-February and March. The region was primed for fire this year due to an extended drought that has affected the region in current months and years, parching vegetation and making it much easier for fires to spread out. “The dry spell likely made this wildfire more difficult to combat,” said Jessica McCarty, the chief of the biospheric branch at NASAs Ames Research. “Climate change will increasingly make severe fire weather days the standard in late winter and early spring moving on. Regional communities will have to concentrate on fire prevention, like decreasing or eliminating human-caused ignitions to prevent this type of fire from happening in the future.”Impact and ResponseWhile most cattle endured the fires in barns or holding pens, some might be hurt and neighborhoods have reported countless missing out on or dead cattle. “Cattle and crop losses in the Panhandle are substantial and facilities damage is devastating,” the Texas Department of Agriculture stated in a declaration. Ranchers who were able to conserve their cattle from the flames have to confront a brand-new problem– how to care and feed for animals after a lot pasture therefore lots of fences have burned. “This is calving season across the U.S., so a few of the animals lost were pregnant cows or most likely calves,” McCarty said. “The economic impact of this fire on agricultural neighborhoods could be serious.”As of March 5, the Smokehouse Creek fire was 37 percent consisted of and the Windy Deuce fire was 55 percent included, fire authorities reported on InciWeb. NASAs Earth Applied Sciences Disasters program location has actually been activated to support the Federal Emergency Management Agencys reaction to the event. As brand-new info becomes offered, the team will be publishing information and maps products on its open-access mapping portal.NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, utilizing MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.