Officials in Texas have warned the state's biggest ever fire could be fuelled further over
the weekend with high winds in the forecast.
Two people and thousands of cattle have been killed as the blaze continues to rage out of control.
The Smokehouse Creek Fire, which spans over 1.1 million acres, has devastated cattle ranches,
destroyed homes and left a blackened landscape in its wake.
As of Friday afternoon, the fire is only 15% contained.
Governor Greg Abbott has urged people to stay vigilant and not to "let down their guard".
"Everybody needs to understand that we face enormous potential fire dangers as we head into this weekend," he said at a press conference on Friday.
Fire weather watches have been issued in Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle from Saturday
through to midnight on Sunday as firefighters rush to contain the conflagration.
The bulk of the Texas fires - including the massive Smokehouse Creek Fire - are in the Texas
Panhandle, the northern region of the state that is home to vast cattle ranches.
The land is not densely populated but millions of cows, calves, steers and bulls are raised in the area.
Governor Abbott said initial damage assessments show 400 to 500 structures that have been
destroyed by the blaze.
"When you look at the damages that have occurred here, it's just gone, completely gone, nothing
left but ashes on the ground," Mr Abbott said.
Thousands of animals are believed to have died, the Texas agriculture commissioner, Sid Miller,
said on Thursday.
"Just my prediction, but it will be 10,000 that will have died or we'll have to euthanise," he said.
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