Two people have died in Texas, facing the largest fire in its history, according to a new report, a disaster that US President Joe Biden attributed to the effects of climate change.
• Read also: United States: one dead in out-of-control fires in Texas
• Read also: Fires still out of control in Texas
In addition to an 83-year-old grandmother who died in a house fire in the small town of Stinnett, a 44-year-old woman died Thursday after being seriously injured when the truck she was driving was surrounded by flames in Smokehouse Creek, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety official, quoted Friday by several local media.
The latest report from the Forestry Office shows a total of 509,800 hectares gone up in smoke in all the fires, eleven of which have already been contained (they are burning but not advancing) and a dozen brought under control.
According to the Texas Forestry Service, five fires remain “active” in the northern part of the state. The largest outbreak, Smokehouse Creek, which had already ravaged some 435,000 hectares on Thursday, is only “5%” contained and now also affects part of neighboring Oklahoma.
Officials at Turkey Track Ranch in the area said they lost 80 percent of their 32,000-acre property.
“We believe the loss of livestock, crops and wildlife, as well as other infrastructure on our property, and other ranches and homes in the area, is unprecedented in our history,” they said. said in a statement cited by ABC News.
Firefighters fear that the situation will worsen during the weekend due to the expected winds, in a hot and dry climate.
According to CNN meteorologist Chad Myers, the fire is moving at a speed of two football fields per second.
President Biden, on an immigration campaign visit to Texas, told the press that 500 federal officials were working to fight the fires, in addition to local firefighters.
Several cities in the United States and Canada experienced record temperatures in February, with some even experiencing summer heat. According to experts, the El Niño phenomenon is to blame, in addition to climate change.
“I like some of my Neanderthal friends who still think there is no climate change,” Joe Biden quipped, referring to his climate-skeptical Republican adversaries.
