The Smokehouse Creek fire started on Feb. 26 and is affecting the northeastern Texas panhandle and western Oklahoma. The wildfire has burned more than 1.2 million acres, killed two people, and thousands of cattle. The cause of the fire is still unknown, but the Texas A&M Forest Service said that 90% of wildfires across Texas are caused by humans.
The Smokehouse Creek fire also followed an unusual weather period the week before the fire. Panhandle cities broke records for high temperatures, reaching 83-85 degrees Fahrenheit. Officials said eventually, strong, cold winds blew in, hitting up to 70 mph, wafting the flames and pushing the wildfire to spread.
According to a 2021 report by Texas State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon, the wildfire risk is expected to increase across Texas as climate change brings drier and hotter conditions.
Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Analyst Luke Kanslerz said climate made fire control a challenge.
“It goes back to the underlying dryness we see in the summer months. And 2023 was a good example of how the hot and dry summer months can produce fires that are highly resistant to control. They may not be big, but they can be just as impactful,” Kanslerz said.
The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions shows the contribution climate change has with creating hotter summers and drier winters, which plays a significant role in fueling wildfires.
The Texas wildfire can also have immediate environmental and health-related effects. One in four Americans, or more than 83 million people, are exposed each year to unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the 2024 National Risk Assessment by the First Street Foundation.
According to the World Health Organization, wildfires contaminate the air with toxic pollutants and impact the climate by releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
NASA researchers discovered the Earth is surrounded by a haze of old smoke hovering in the troposphere over places like Antarctica. A research associate at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric, Gregory Schill, conducted a study and found that on a global scale, some smoke particles cool the Earth, still, only slightly, in climate-sensitive places like the Arctic, the particles can cause a warming effect.
The smoke emitted from wildfires is largely contaminating the Earth’s atmosphere. This is creating an unhealthy environment for humans and other living organisms on the planet. In the future, the climate is expected to create drier and warmer temperatures, and wildfires are expected to increase. By staying informed we can advocate and discuss these concerns that will affect our futures. We depend on the Earth, and it depends on us.
