The “devastating” wildfires raging in Texas have led to a disaster declaration for numerous counties and evacuation mandates in sections of the Texas Panhandle.
Governor Greg Abbott announced a disaster declaration encompassing 60 counties on Tuesday in response to “widespread wildfire activity across the state.” Among these fires, the Smokehouse Creek Fire stands out as the second-largest wildfire in Texas history.
Governor Abbott emphasized that the declaration aims to facilitate swift deployment of fire response resources to the “areas in the Texas Panhandle affected by devastating wildfires,” as stated in a Tuesday press release.
As a precautionary measure in response to the wildfires, the Pantex Nuclear Weapons Plant in Amarillo has temporarily halted operations and evacuated nonessential personnel. This decision was outlined in an internal situation report obtained by ABC News from the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency.
The report assures that “all special materials are safe and unaffected” by the wildfires.
Situated approximately 13 miles from the Windy Deuce Fire in Moore County, the Pantex facility is closely monitoring the situation alongside the Texas A&M Forest Service, which is overseeing several fires in the region.