TEXAS, Canada (AP) – Fast-moving Texas wildfires on Tuesday prompted evacuation orders for small towns and shut down nuclear facilities due to strong winds and dry grass. unseasonably warm temperatures It added fuel to the fires in the state's rural Panhandle.
In this photo provided by the Flower Mound, Texas Fire Department, Flower Mound firefighters respond to a fire in the Texas Panhandle on Tuesday, February 27, 2024. A rapidly growing wildfire in Texas doubled in size on Tuesday, prompting evacuation orders for at least a year. A small town. (Flower Mound Fire Department via AP)
A major facility that assembles and dismantles America's nuclear weapons ceased operations in Texas on Tuesday night after a nearby fire broke out and got out of control. Pantex released a statement online announcing that it is suspending operations until further notice.
The largest fire burned nearly 400 square miles (1,040 square kilometers), prompting Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to declare disaster for 60 counties, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. This is more than doubling in size since the fire broke out on Monday. Officials have not said what caused the fire, which ravaged the sparsely populated county surrounded by rolling plains.
“Texans are being asked to limit activities that could create sparks and take precautions to keep their loved ones safe,” Abbott said.
The largest fire, known as the Smokehouse Creek Fire, closed highways and was 0% contained as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Forest Service.
In this photo provided by the Flower Mound, Texas Fire Department, Flower Mound firefighters respond to a fire in the Texas Panhandle on Tuesday, February 27, 2024. A rapidly growing wildfire in Texas doubled in size on Tuesday, prompting evacuation orders for at least a year. A small town. (Flower Mound Fire Department via AP)
“Out of an abundance of caution, we evacuated personnel and non-essential personnel from the site,” Raev Pendergraft, a spokesman for Pantex's National Nuclear Security Administration production office, said Tuesday night. He said this at a press conference. “However, we have a fully equipped fire department that is trained for these scenarios and is on-site monitoring and preparing in case an actual emergency occurs on the plant property.”
Hutchinson County Emergency Management officials in nearby Borger City, which was also evacuated, planned convoys to transport evacuees from one shelter to another ahead of the expected power outage.
Representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration did not immediately respond to media inquiries late Tuesday.
Since 1975, Pantex has been the primary assembly and disassembly site for U.S. atomic bombs. The last new bomb was assembled in 1991. Since then, we have dismantled thousands of weapons.
Pantex is located approximately 17 miles (27.36 kilometers) northeast of Amarillo and approximately 320 miles (515 kilometers) northwest of Dallas.
Multiple fires were reported in Hemphill and Hutchinson counties near the Oklahoma border, and evacuation orders were issued in some areas.
Texas Sen. Kevin Sparks said evacuation orders had been issued for Canadian, a town of about 2,000 people about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of Amarillo, and other areas. Late Tuesday, the Hemphill County Sheriff's Office asked anyone remaining in Canada to shelter in place or at a high school gymnasium due to road closures.
Evacuation orders were also issued in nearby Miami, and schools in Canada and Miami announced closures on Wednesday. Fire officials in Durham, Oklahoma, across the border in eastern Canada, also urged people to evacuate due to the blaze.
Evacuations are also in effect in Skellytown, Wheeler, Allison and Brisco, according to the National Weather Service in Amarillo.
Officials in the city of Pampa, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Canada, suggested on Facebook that residents evacuate south and said buses were available. Officials said Pampa residents may be able to return home as crews continued to extinguish the fire Tuesday night.
“We were able to stop the fire north of town,” a Bureau of Meteorology official said on X (formerly Twitter).
To the west, at least some residents of the small Hutchinson County city of Fritch were told to leave their homes Tuesday afternoon because of another fire that jumped a highway.
“All residents south of Highway 146 in Fritch evacuate now!” city officials said on Facebook.
Emergency management officials in Hutchinson County and officials in the nearby city of Borger, which was also evacuated, posted on Facebook Tuesday night where evacuees in both cities could take shelter. They said with so many fires in the county, it was “extremely difficult” to keep everyone on the same page while responding on the front lines.
“There are some areas where there is no electricity or running water,” the post said. “We pray for the safety of everyone involved. And pack your bags just in case. That's the best information we have at this point.”
The fire broke out Tuesday night 20 to 25 miles (32 to 40 kilometers) from Amarillo, and winds could blow wildfire smoke into the city, potentially impacting people with respiratory problems. Meteorological bureau officials said.
The National Weather Service said a combination of strong winds of more than 40 miles per hour (64 kph), warm temperatures, low humidity and dry winter vegetation created the perfect weather conditions for several other areas throughout the central part of the country. A Red Flag Warning and Fire Hazard Warning have been issued for the state. Forest fire.
In central Nebraska, A grass mower started a prairie fire. The fire destroyed a vast swath of grassland roughly the size of Omaha, the state's largest city, state officials said Tuesday.
