Wildfires burn Texas Panhandle, pause work at nuclear weapons facility
Newsy
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties. Evacuation orders are in place in some areas.
A series of wildfires swept across the Texas Panhandle early Wednesday, prompting evacuations, cutting off power to thousands, and forcing at least the temporary shutdown of a nuclear weapons facility as strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures fed the blazes.
An unknown number of homes and other structures in Hutchinson County were damaged or destroyed, local emergency officials said. The main facility that disassembles America's nuclear arsenal paused operations Tuesday night but said it would reopen for normal work on Wednesday.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties as the largest blaze, the Smokehouse Creek Fire, burned nearly 470 square miles, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. That is more than twice its size since the fire sparked Monday.
Authorities have not said what might have caused the blaze, which tore through sparsely populated counties surrounded by rolling plains.
The weather forecast provided some hope for firefighters — cooler temperatures, less wind and possibly rain on Thursday. But for now, the situation was dire in some areas.
