Wildfires raged across the Texas panhandle on Wednesday, prompting a disaster declaration from Gov. Greg Abbott and evacuation orders across the state, and leaving thousands without power.
The second largest blaze in state history was burning in Hutchinson County, where the Smokehouse Creek fire has grown from 500,000 to 850,000 acres on Wednesday alone, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. The enormous fire, larger than the state of Rhode Island, was three percent contained as of Wednesday afternoon. Thirty homes have already been burnt to the ground, according to reports. The blaze is fast approaching the record for the largest fire in the state’s history, the 2006 East Amarillo Complex fire, which was 907,245 acres.
The ongoing fires left more than 10,000 Texas residents without power, the majority of which were in Hutchinson County.
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In nearby Amarillo County, the Pantex nuclear weapons plant paused operations and evacuated all nonessential personnel, according to a DHS/CISA report obtained by ABC News. “All weapons and special materials are safe and unaffected,” the report said.
The Pantex plant is located 13 miles south of the Windy Deuce fire. On Wednesday, the Windy Deuce fire grew from an estimated 38,000 acres and to a startling 90,000 acres. As of Wednesday afternoon 25 percent of it had been contained.
East of the Pantex plant, the Grape Vine Creek fire, which was 30,000 acres, was 60 percent contained on Tuesday night, according to Texas A&M Forest Service.
On Tuesday, Gov. Abbott issued a disaster declaration in response to the “devastating wildfires” and directed aid to respond to local wildfires that had already broken out.
“Texans are urged to limit activities that could create sparks and take precautions to keep their loved ones safe,” he said.
According to Abbott’s statement, dry conditions and high temperatures along with strong winds made the chances of a wildfire outbreak incredibly high.
