February 27-28, 2024 -- Smokehouse Creek Fire in Texas

At least five growing wildfires were threatening communities in the Texas Panhandle as of early Wednesday, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service Incident Viewer.

So far, more than 370,000 acres have been burned by the fires, according to the forest service.

The threat has sparked evacuation orders and shelter-in-place advisories for several communities in the region.

Here are the current wildfire statuses:

Smokehouse Creek Fire

Windy Deuce Fire

Grape Vine Creek Fire

687 Reamer Fire

Magenta Fire

Note: The fires listed above are crossing over into other Texas counties and causing impacts, and some flames have moved into Oklahoma. It wasn't immediately clear if any of the burned acres described above were in Oklahoma. Also, the Juliet Pass Fire, which was burning earlier Tuesday around Texas' Armstrong County, has been 100% contained after scorching nearly 3,000 acres.

Wildfires ripping through swaths of the Texas Panhandle on Tuesday were encroaching on roads, filling the air with blinding smoke and lighting up the night's sky, according to video from CNN and local officials.

Video taken by CNN from a plane arriving in Amarillo, Texas, Tuesday night shows flames streaking across the land below.

No fire had reached Amarillo as of 6 p.m., the fire department said. But a little under two hours later, the department said it and other agencies were battling flames that were moving south toward the city on both sides of Highway 136. At least three active fires are burning north of the city.

The colossal Smokehouse Creek Fire was seen creeping over a roadway in Hutchinson County, which includes the city of Canadian, blowing dark smoke over dry roadside grasses and brush, video shared Tuesday by the Texas A&M Forest Service shows.

"Crews are building fireline and engaged in structure protection in Canadian at this time. Fire behavior remains active," the agency said.

Firefighters from Greenville, Texas, have been deployed to help battle blazes near Canadian and Wheeler. They captured an image of flames licking the edges of parts of a road ahead of them on Tuesday.

A medical system in Canadian, Texas, says it has safely evacuated its hospital patients and the residents of two residential care facilities as wildfires threaten the area.

The Hemphill County Hospital District relocated its inpatients, as well as residents at Mesa View Senior Living and Mesa View Assisted Living, to the city of Pampa, about 50 miles to the southwest of Canadian, according to a Facebook post.

Canadian was under a mandatory evacuation order Tuesday afternoon, but officials later recommended residents shelter in place due to road closures, the Hemphill County Sheriff's office said on Facebook.

"Prayers of safety for our residents, patients, and entire community and region!" the medical system said.

Canadian is about 100 miles northeast of Amarillo.

More than 200 people are sheltering in a church in Fritch, Texas, after raging wildfires forced people to flee their homes Tuesday afternoon, church leaders say.

"We have a lot of people at the facility who confirmed they lost their homes," Celebration Family Church pastor Dwight Kirksey told CNN. "Of course, they're devastated and heartbroken."

A team of more than 50 volunteers has been consoling the displaced community members, said Kirksey, who also serves as Hutchinson County commissioner.

"They've been comforting the needs of the heart with hugs and embraces and letting them know that they're here with us and alive and we'll get through this."

Outside, thick smoke has darkened the sky and reduced visibility to about 100 yards or less, Kirksey said. Bobby Mac, a church elder, said some homes can be seen burning from the church.

Several people sheltering at the church initially tried to ride out the blaze but had to flee when flames reached their homes, Mac said.

Mac described the residents of West Texas as tough and resilient, so he's not surprised they decided to hunker down.

"But when a wildfire is blowing through your town there's not a whole lot you can do," he said. 

In Moore County, Texas — where the Windy Deuce Fire had scorched at least 20,000 acres by Tuesday night — the local sheriff said authorities were still battling "active uncontrolled fires."

"We have seen tragedy today and we have seen miracles," the Moore County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post. "Today was a historic event we hope never happens again. The panhandle needs prayers."

Deputies were assisting authorities from neighboring Hutchinson County with evacuations, the sheriff's office said.

The sheriff's office had earlier said there were emergency evacuation alerts in several communities, warning residents it was "imperative to evacuate the area for your safety and well-being."

Towering columns of smoke approached an 80,000-acre ranch outside of Stinnett, Texas, Tuesday, where employees stayed behind to move cattle out of the blaze's path, a ranch worker's spouse told CNN.

“We cut the fences and unfortunately had to get out due to firefighters having to go save communities," said Katlyn Butler, whose husband works at Turkey Track Ranch.

Ranch workers had no time to evacuate livestock as the rapidly growing Smokehouse Creek Fire tore toward them.

Video shared by Butler shows a group of cattle running in the opposite direction of plumes of glowing smoke and fire. They trampled over tufts of brittle, dry grasses that may serve as more fuel for the wildfire.

“We’ve lost cattle. Not sure what is alive and isn’t," Butler said.

The blazes "still have enough fuel to keep going," National Weather Service Amarillo Meteorologist Christian Rangel told CNN Tuesday night.

“We have had a high wind and fire event go through ... (and) right now at our office, we are getting gusts up to 35 mph,” Rangel said, adding the winds have switched directions -- something forecasters had warned would happen and could help flames expand in a different direction.

There have been reports of damage, including burned structures, in the areas that are under fire warnings and had to be evacuated, Rangel said.

Winds will be strong until early Wednesday morning and humidities should begin to rise Tuesday night, he added.

“Wednesday we are not outlooked for critical fire weather conditions,” Rangel said. 

In a Facebook post Tuesday evening, the city of Fritch — roughly 30 miles northeast of Amarillo — warned residents who were south of Highway 136 to "EVACUATE NOW," warning the flames had jumped the road.

City officials also urged residents not to use a lot of water to help with firefighters' efforts to battle the flames.

"Pressure is down on the city water wells due to loss of electricity. We are currently working to resolve this issue. PLEASE keep water usage to a minimum, so we can keep pressure up enough to fill fire trucks," officials said in a post.

Authorities in at least two Oklahoma counties are also asking residents to evacuate after a wildfire in Texas jumped the state line, an Oklahoma official told CNN Tuesday evening.

“There are evacuation orders currently in effect for Roger Mills and Ellis counties," Oklahoma Emergency Management spokesperson Keli Cain said. "The fire in Roger Mills County is the fire that crossed over from Texas."

The Smokehouse Creek Fire, which has burned through 250,000 acres so far, is believed to be the blaze that crossed over.

“Earlier in the day there were additional evacuations in Texas and Beaver counties in the Oklahoma panhandle," Cain added.

The Crawford, Oklahoma, Volunteer Fire Department & Rescue encouraged all residents from Durham west to the state line and north of Durham "to evacuate due to large wildfire and expected wind change,” in a post on Facebook. Crawford is in Roger Mills County.

The Crawford, Oklahoma, Volunteer Fire Department & Rescue encouraged all residents from Durham west to the state line and north of Durham "to evacuate due to large wildfire and expected wind change,” in a post on Facebook. Crawford is in Roger Mills County.