A fast-moving wildfire in the Oklahoma panhandle doubled in size as it pressed into Kansas while winds threatened to shift and raise fire risks across West Texas and New Mexico.
The Ranger Road Fire had consumed more than 283,000 acres in Oklahoma and Kansas as of Thursday, nearly 20 times the size of the island of Manhattan. In all, more than 300,000 acres have burned in Oklahoma this week as temperatures soared roughly 15F (8C) above average and rock-bottom humidity dried out grasses and brush.
Oklahoma officials had received 33 reports of fires and hotspots spanning nearly two dozen counties, including a fast-growing fire that briefly prompted evacuations south of the Ranger Road blaze. Though the state is expected to see some relief Friday as temperatures drop and humidity creeps higher, winds are forecast to pick up across far West Texas. Two fires outside the city of Amarillo have already consumed more than 31,000 acres…