Watch: Fort Worth firefighters drive through flames to join battle against Texas wildfire
So far, the fire blacked 850,000 acres and is less than 60,000 acres away from becoming the largest wildfire in state history.
Watch: Texas firefighters drive through burning embers and blackout smoke
The Fort Worth Fire Department was deployed to the Smokehouse Creek Fire, the second-largest in the history of the state. This crew had to drive through burning embers and blackout smoke to get past a point where the fire was trying to jump the highway.
HUTCHINSON COUNTY, Texas – The recently deployed Fort Worth Fire Department drove through burning embers, blackout smoke and past flames to launch a defense against the second-largest wildfire in Texas history.
Fifteen firefighters drove 370 miles to aid the hundreds of crews already battling the out-of-control wildfire that blackened 850,000 acres. As evidenced by the video above, the drive wasn't easy.
Smoke plumes are so large from the fire, a satellite captured them.
(Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies / FOX Weather)
Cell phone video shows flames leaping out toward the vehicle at one point. Winds gusting to 64 mph on Tuesday fed the flames and tried to push it across the highway. At one point, the burning embers pelt the driver's window and windshield. Then everything goes dark as the thick, acrid smoke around the car turns day to night.
Listen to the wind scream near Canadian, Texas. This was another area where winds, this time gusting to 48 mph, accelerated the flames across the road.
OVER 1 MILLION ACRES BURN DURING FIRES IN TEXAS, OKLAHOMA
The Fort Worth firefighters were told that they would fight on the fire lines for the next two weeks before being rotated out.
The gusty winds and record February heat fueled flames. The cause is still unknown.
The humidity rebounded overnight, and the winds calmed Wednesday to aid firefighters. Still, the blaze is only 3% contained as of Wednesday afternoon. The wind is forecast to pick up again over the weekend.
This fire is close to becoming the largest in Lone Star State history. The record holder was in the same county and burned 907,245 acres in March 2006, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.