Wildfire outbreak ‘likely’ Tuesday across New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma
AMARILLO, Texas – Extreme fire weather danger exists Tuesday afternoon for parts of New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma as winds once again pick up over a large swath of very dry land.
The National Weather Service said that a “wildfire outbreak is likely” in warnings that were issued Tuesday morning.
This comes after four people were killed in Oklahoma by a series of sweeping wildfires last week.
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Sustained winds of up to 30 mph are expected to pick up Tuesday afternoon, with gusts between 40 and 60 mph. Relative humidity is expected to drop into the single digits in some places. Any fires that ignite will have the potential to spread rapidly and become uncontrollable.
Temperatures across the region are forecast to reach the upper 70s to low 80s by this afternoon.
The wildfires near Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Friday damaged or destroyed more than 400 homes, according to the State’s Office of Emergency Management.
The farmhouse of Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt was among the buildings that were destroyed.Ā
The fires led to the deaths of four people and left more than 200 people injured, officials said.
The Red Cross and the Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief organizations are operating shelters for people who have lost their homes.
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Several wildfires are still burning across parts of Texas, including the Windmill Fire which has scorched 23,000 acres in Roberts County in the panhandle part of the state. It is 95% contained.
The winds are expected to die down Wednesday. However, with little moisture returning later in the week and another potential surface low developing in the central Plains, fire weather could again ramp up by Thursday and Friday.
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