Warm temps, high winds, drought culminate in massive wildfires across Oklahoma this week

A dangerous mix of heat, high winds and drought culminated in dozens of wildfires in Oklahoma this week. A massive wildfire in the Texas Panhandle that sparked Monday blew into Oklahoma on Tuesday afternoon, affecting air quality and visibility in the Sooner State.

The Smokehouse Creek Fire grew into the second-largest wildfire in Texas history, according to The Associated Press, which closed highways and prompted evacuations in a handful of small towns Tuesday night.

It is also the second-largest blaze in Oklahoma's history, the first being the Anderson Creek Fire of 2017 that started in Woods County and burned over 400,000 acres, mainly in Kansas, according to The Associated Press.

How did it start?

Officials report that the Smokehouse Creek Fire was caused by electrical transmission/distribution systems.

Experts say transmission lines are susceptible to faults from wildfires, but power systems can cause wildfires, too, by creating ignition points in susceptible areas.

Higher temperatures mean fire ignitions from power systems are becoming more prevalent, studies show.

The 500,000-acre blaze remained 0% contained as of Wednesday morning, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service Incident Viewer, but its intensity has reduced some.

How the Smokehouse Creek Fire affects Oklahoma

Durham and Crawford in Oklahoma were evacuated Tuesday after Roger Mills County Emergency Management reported the Smokehouse Creek Fire in Texas crossed the state line and moved into the county.

A cold front reaching Oklahoma on Tuesday night created a wall of smoke along the leading edge and moved through western Oklahoma, according to the National Weather Service in Norman.

Numerous wildfires affecting Oklahoma

According to the latest data available Wednesday, at least two other wildfires were active in northwest Oklahoma.

The Catesby Fire was 0% contained, affecting 76,800 acres, and the Slapout Fire was 0% contained, affecting 30,000 acres.

Across the state, the State Emergency Operations Center received 29 fire reports from local jurisdictions in 17 counties, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. Oklahoma Forestry Services has supported 32 uncontained fires across the state, and reported over 30,000 acres have burned.

According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, one injury has been reported by area hospitals -— a responder with heat-related illness.

How do wildfires happen?

About 85% of wildfires in the U.S. are caused by humans. These fires result from unattended campfires, burning debris, equipment use and malfunctions, negligently discarded cigarettes and arson.

The risk of wildfires increases in extremely dry conditions, like drought, heat waves and high winds.

The National Weather Service in Norman reported that conditions conducive to wildfires will continue this week, though temperatures have dropped for a few days.

"The fire season is just getting started with dry, windy, and warm conditions expected again this weekend," NWS Norman wrote on X.

Climate change is leading to warmer temperatures and drier conditions, meaning the fire season is staring earlier and ending later, according to the World Health Organization. This is causing more extreme wildfire events, affecting transportation, communications, water supply and power and gas services.

Will the forecasted rain combat wildfires?

According to NWS Norman, western Oklahoma and central Oklahoma could see precipitation on Thursday. But the amounts of precipitation will have little influence on fire fuels moving into the weekend, the state Emergency Management Department reports.

Fire danger concerns will spike on Sunday with a dryline intrusion west and an approaching cold front, meaning there's a strong potential for critical fire weather, according to the state agency.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Smokehouse Creek Fire reaches Oklahoma, dozens of other fires rage across state