“Devastating” wildfires in Texas have led to a disaster declaration for numerous counties and evacuation orders in parts of the Texas Panhandle.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties on Tuesday in response to “widespread wildfire activity throughout the state.” The largest fire, the Smokehouse Creek Fire, is now the second-largest wildfire in Texas history.
This declaration ensures that fire response resources are swiftly mobilized to “areas in the Texas Panhandle impacted by devastating wildfires,” Abbott stated in a press release on Tuesday.
Wildland Team members depart to operate amid the spread of fire in this picture obtained by Reuters on Feb. 27, 2024.
Flower Mound Texas Fire Department/via Reuters
The Pantex Nuclear Weapons Plant in Amarillo has stopped operations and evacuated nonessential personnel as a precaution due to the wildfires, according to an internal report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency obtained by ABC News.