At least four people were killed in a multi-vehicle crash in Colorado, and multiple fires are burning across the Plains as high winds cause widespread damage across the region.
The crash on Interstate 25 south of Pueblo, Colorado, involved more than 30 vehicles with wind gusts up to 91 mph, kicking up dust and dirt, reducing visibility and causing a “brownout” condition.
At least 29 people were taken to hospitals with injuries, the Colorado State Patrol said, but no additional information was provided about the severity of their injuries.
According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, a three-mile stretch of the interstate remains closed between mile markers 91 and 94, with no indication when it will reopen.
The same powerful winds are rapidly deteriorating fire weather conditions, putting the region under threat of “particularly dangerous” fires.
A wildfire that started late Tuesday morning in Beaver County, Oklahoma, quickly spread into southwestern Kansas in just a few hours. About 15,000 acres had burned as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Oklahoma State Forest Service.
OKLAHOMA – We’re reminding you not to drive into smoke as we face fire danger across the state this week. Officer Travis Burgess closed US 64 in the panhandle east of Forgan due to the fire as he crossed the highway. Please be careful! pic.twitter.com/MaW5RGkru9
— OK Highway Patrol/DPS (@OHPDPS) February 17, 2026
The fires threaten at least two communities in Kansas. According to CNN affiliate KAKE, evacuations are underway in Inglewood and Ashland. At least one health center in Ashland, a town of about 700 people, reported being evacuated in a social media post.
To the south, authorities issued a fire warning for the Texas Panhandle Tuesday afternoon, saying a “dangerous wildfire” was burning about 4 miles east of Goodnight, Texas, and moving northeast at 3 to 5 mph.
More than 750,000 people in parts of five states across the Plains were facing Level 3 extremely dangerous fire weather conditions on Tuesday, with wind gusts up to 110 mph, extremely dry air and damaging large amounts of dead and dry vegetation.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning that “this is a particularly dangerous situation.” “Once a fire starts, it spreads quickly and becomes very difficult to control.”
Gusty winds are starting to develop over large areas of the Plains and are expected to increase further into the afternoon. Wind gusts of up to 111 mph were recorded in Burlington, Colorado, and gusts of more than 60 mph were also observed in western Kansas, Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle.
Similar wildfires have caused catastrophic damage in the past, including the 2024 Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas Panhandle, which became the state’s largest wildfire, destroying more than 500 structures.
Fire weather concerns will peak this afternoon as winds peak and humidity levels bottom out to a low of 10-15%. The situation will remain dangerous until the evening, but is expected to improve overnight.
High winds across the Plains on Tuesday meant more than just dangerous fire conditions.
Large vehicles such as semi-trucks can be blown away and the dust thrown into the air can reduce visibility for drivers. Intermittent power outages may also occur.
Tomorrow afternoon, another storm could produce winds that could increase the fire risk to the second-highest critical status from the southern High Plains, eastern New Mexico, and western Texas to the Oklahoma Panhandle, southwestern Kansas, and southeastern Colorado.
CNN’s Eric Zerkel contributed to this report.
