A 14,000-plus acre fire began near the southwestern outskirts of Canyon after a potential rain storm brought only wind and lightning strikes, which caused multiple fires to start around FM 1714 and Hunggate Road Thursday evening. The fire then began to travel down Soncy Road as the smoke spread.
As an emergency, a mandated evacuation was ordered to residents in that area who were told to go to Cole Community Center in Canyon.
By Friday morning, the fire was listed as 30% contained but still at an estimated 14,000 acres in size, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. All evacuation orders had been lifted Thursday evening, when forward progression was stopped.
Juan Rodriguez, a Texas A&M Forest Service PIO, said the multiple fires combined into one and threatened many people in the Canyon area, who evacuated to Cole Community Center.
“The head of the fire was stopped around 9:30 p.m.,” said Rodriguez. “The fire was heading south when a wind change caused it to go southwest, traveling to the Chaparral development off 13th Avenue and Brown Road. The powerful wind also pushed smoke into Amarillo, causing concern for residents, not only in South Amarillo, but around the city.”
Rodriguez said it was not known how many structures were damaged as of Friday morning, but no lives were lost. Reports will be coming in later this afternoon, he said.
The Amarillo Office of Emergency Management said anyone whose home, property, or business in Potter or Randall County was impacted by recent wildfires should fill out the TDEM iSTAT Damage Survey. Residents of Potter and Randall counties are also encouraged to sign up for emergency alerts and receive important updates directly to their phones for severe weather, public safety notifications, and more at amarilloalerts.com/alerts.
Video and photos on social media showed a railroad trestle bridge just south of Canyon fully engulfed, which was completely destroyed.
The many emergency services responding to the fires included the Texas A&M Forest Service; Canyon and Amarillo Fire Departments; Randall and Potter County fire departments; Motley, Hereford, Happy and Hartley Volunteer Fire Departments; along with the Lake Tanglewood Volunteer Fire Department. Rodriguez said that air drops were also utilized to fight the flames.
More information will be presented after the damage is accessed, according to Rodriguez.
In addition, the Amarillo Fire Department said the controlled burn planned for Friday was postponed.
More than two dozen fires broke out and were burning Friday in multiple states, including Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado and Kansas.
Texas Panhandle wildfires at a glance
Hunggate Fire
The southwestern Randall County fire was by far the largest and threatened the outskirts of Canyon. It was 14,000 acres and 40% contained as of 11:30 a.m.
Line Fire
The Quay County fire spread across the New Mexico-Texas border into Oldham County, and it was an estimated 23,000 acres and 25% contained.
Shifty Fire
The northern Potter County fire near the Crawford Ranch was 5,000 acres and 90% contained at 11:25 a.m.
Roman Fire
A fire in Hartley County was 2,000 acres and 65% contained.
McBride Fire
A fire in Carson County was 2,192 acres and fully contained.
Indigo Fire
Another fire in southeastern Oldham County was 50 acres and fully contained.
Crooked Cook Fire
A fire in Motley County was 1,500 acres and 35% contained.
This story was updated with additional information.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Crews assess damage after Hunggate fire prompts evacuations near Canyon
Reporting by Nell Williams, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
