Texas Wildfires: Nuclear Weapons Plant Halts Operation, Causes Evacuations in the Area

Texas wildfires have ravaged different parts of the state of Texas as of Wednesday, February 28. Flames and smoke from the wildland fires have prompted widespread disruption, ranging from halting a nuclear weapons plant, cutting power to thousands of homes and business establishments, and sparking mandatory evacuations. Disaster declarations were also issued by local authorities amid the raging fires.

The Texas blaze has covered a total land area of hundreds of thousands of acres across the state, where wildfires have been reported to be spreading throughout the Texas Panhandle. Although no human fatalities have been reported so far, the fires are putting towns at risk and can pose life-threatening risks. Fire weather conditions such as strong winds and high temperatures are fuelling the Texas flames, according to reports.

Amid the disruption caused by the natural disaster, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for dozens of counties across the state, urging Texans to consider limiting their activities that could ignite fires, as well as taking safety precautions to keep their loved ones safe. The Texas wildfires come as other parts of the country will experience new winter weather-related events this week, according to the National Weather Service.

Texas Wildfires Disaster Declaration

In a press release in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, February 27, Governor Abbott issued the disaster declaration for the Texas wildfires as a response to the widespread wildfire activity statewide. According to the release, additional counties may be included if the situation worsens. Gov. Abbot also ordered the Texas Division of Emergency Management to active additional state emergency resources to supplement local firefighters responding to the Texas blaze.

Critical fire response resources have been deployed to areas in the Texas Panhandle which has been significantly impacted by the wildfires, according to Abbot. Meanwhile, the Texas A&M Forest Service stated it had responded to 13 wildfires on Monday, February 26, local reports say. Among all the Texas wildfires, the Smokehouse Creek Fire located in Hutchinson County has burnt 500,000 acres and is still 0% contained as of Wednesday morning.

Nuclear Weapons Plant

According to an internal situation report from DHS/CISA, the Pantex Nuclear Weapons Plant in Amarillo, Texas, prompted an evacuation of its non-essential personnel due to the wildfires in northern Texas and western Oklahoma, according to local media reporting. As mentioned earlier, the nuclear weapons facility temporarily halted operation as the fires caused evacuations in the area and other counties across Texas.

In the Amarillo region, several towns and communities are under mandatory evacuation. In Fritch, several parts of the city have already been evacuated after more than 40 houses were damaged. As there is no current sign that the situation will improve, Abbott also issued a warning that the Texas wildfires could grow or spread in the coming days due to the reported continuation of fire weather conditions such as high temperatures and strong winds.