Fogbow

The Smokehouse Creek Fire, which started in Hutchinson County north of Stinnett, is approximately 40,000 acres with 0% containment according to Texas A&M Forest Service. "The fire that started north of Stinnett has moved east across what we call the Turkey Track Ranch and the Adobe Walls area. This fire is burning in the river bottom that makes it difficult to fight without the air tankers. Texas Forrest Service has been contacted. Multiple agencies and an incident command unit is on the way," said Hansford County Office of Emergency Management.

Smokehouse Creek Fire already 5th largest in state history

The Smokehouse Creek Fire, which had scorched at least 250,000 acres by Tuesday afternoon, already ranks as the fifth largest wildfire in Texas history, according to records from the Texas A&M Forest Service.

And it's burned more land than all of the state's fires in 2023 combined, according to information from the forest service.

An out-of-control wildfire is threatening Texas Panhandle towns and forcing residents to evacuate.

Various evacuations were ordered throughout the day on Tuesday. Here's where they are in effect:

Parts of Hemphill and Roberts Counties, including the town of Canadian, Texas, around an hour and a half northeast of Amarillo, Texas.
City officials said that parts of Fritch, Texas, including both Roberts and Hutchinson Counties, are also under an evacuation order.
Some residents in Lipscomb County in the Texas Panhandle "near Glazier and the feed yard" have been asked to leave, the Lipscomb County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on Facebook.
Evacuations are in place for the town of Double Diamond, according to Moore County Emergency Management Coordinator Tommy Brooks. There is a fire burning at Lake Meredith, which is in the southern portion of the county, Brooks said.

An out-of-control wildfire is threatening Texas Panhandle towns and forcing residents to evacuate.

The Smokehouse Creek Fire has scorched more than 200,000 acres of land since igniting Monday afternoon, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

Evacuations were ordered early Tuesday afternoon for parts of Hemphill and Roberts counties as the fire encroached on populated areas. This includes the town of Canadian, Texas, about an hour and half northeast of Amarillo, Texas.

A federal judge in Texas ruled Tuesday that proxy votes made in the House during the COVID-19 pandemic should not have counted toward the body’s quorum, calling into question the validity of votes during that period and opening the door to potential legal challenges to some pandemic-era legislation.

The rule, implemented by House Democrats amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, allowed the House to pass legislation without a physical quorum of members present, counting toward a quorum those who attended and voted virtually or by proxy.

Judge James Wesley Hendrix determined that the House’s proxy voting rule violated the Quorum Clause of the Constitution.

“Supreme Court precedent has long held that the Quorum Clause requires presence, and the Clause’s text distinguishes those absent members from the quorum and provides a mechanism for obtaining a physical quorum by compelling absent members to attend,” Hendrix wrote.

The State of Texas challenged the rule last February, specifically demanding that two pieces of legislation be halted: the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security’s Alternatives to Detention Case Management Pilot Program.

The PWFA is a workers’ rights bill passed in May 2021 that provides additional federal protections to pregnant workers. Hendrix determined Texas was able to prove injury regarding the PWFA, but not the Case Management Pilot Program.

Hendrix implemented an injunction against the PWFA’s implementation in Texas because it passed without a legal quorum. The case only halts the law in Texas but opens the door to legal challenges to other COVID-era legislation nationwide.