Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. LUBBOCK — Firefighters are still working to extinguish five raging wildfires in the Texas Panhandle that have already collectively burned nearly 575,000 acres, an amount of land that’s roughly 40% larger than Houston, the nation’s fourth most populous city. The Smokehouse Creek fire, which started Monday afternoon, grew from 100,000 to 500,000 acres within 24 hours, according to Texas A&M Forest Service.