Texas Wildfires Immediate Evacuations, Catastrophe Declaration

A massive fire cluster in Texas has been burning out of control, threatening small towns whose authorities are encouraging residents to evacuate before closing roads.

Fire Destroys Homes in Canadian

The Smokehouse Creek Fire, which is also the largest of the cluster at 800 square miles, has spread into parts of Oklahoma and is not yet contained.

The fire burned around 40 homes around the outskirts of Canadian, but the town’s core escaped the blaze. Residents who hadn’t evacuated were sheltering in place on Tuesday evening because the roads were closed.

The Pantex nuclear plant, located northeast of Amarillo, evacuated non-essential personnel on February 27th. However, according to a tweet from Pantex, it “is open for normal day shift operations” on Wednesday morning.

Governor Abbott Issues Disaster Declaration for 60 Counties

On Tuesday, Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties because of “widespread fire activity throughout the state,” stating that he may include additional counties if the conditions worsen and the fire spreads.

The governor’s disaster declaration enables the Texas Division of Emergency Management to activate emergency response resources to help local authorities and firefighters.

Governor Abbott also urged residents to “limit activities that could create sparks and take precautions to keep their loved ones safe.”