Texas and Oklahoma Evacuations Due to Wildfires

Gov. Greg Abbott declared 60 counties a disaster as high winds and dry air fuelled Texas Panhandle fires.

Early on Wednesday, wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma were growing quickly, forcing evacuations and the shutdown of a nuclear weapons dismantling facility.

On Tuesday, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas declared a state of emergency for sixty counties, deploying state resources to support local fire departments and advising citizens to curtail spark-prone activities.

Strong winds and dry weather have caused the Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest active fire in the Texas Panhandle, to flare up on Monday. The fire has burned at least 300,000 acres, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. It was still uncontrolled in the early hours of Wednesday.

In a statement, Governor Abbott stated that "hot and dry conditions caused by high temperatures and windy conditions are expected to continue in the region in the coming days." "These circumstances may make it more likely that these wildfires will spread farther and become more dangerous."

According to the Forest Service, several Texas towns were given mandatory evacuation orders. Amarillo, Texas's National Weather Service office reported that another neighbourhood in that city had also received an evacuation order.

The Hemphill County Hospital District, a hospital in Canada, Texas, evacuated all its patients and employees on Tuesday afternoon. The Moore County Sheriff's Office in Fritch, Texas, ordered residents of multiple neighbourhoods to leave.

Because of the poor quality of the air, Amarillo meteorologists advised people to stay indoors and keep their pets indoors.

Some residents of Ellis and Roger Mills counties, which are close to Oklahoma's western border with Texas, were ordered to leave by local officials.

According to officials, a wildfire was burning north of Pantex, nuclear weapons dismantling plant near Amarillo. The plant ended operations and gave the order for non-essential staff to leave.

Laef Pendergraft, a nuclear safety engineer for the National Nuclear Security Administration production office at Pantex, said that although there was no fire on the plant's property or close to its borders, nuclear safety officials were responding. At a press conference, he said the plant has an on-site fire department.

In Nebraska and Kansas, among other places on the Great Plains, wildfires were sparked by unusually high temperatures and strong winds.