Authorities said several fires raged across North Texas on Wednesday, two of which remained completely uncontrolled, burning hundreds of thousands of acres and forcing residents from their homes.
• Also read: Wildfires in Texas: Nuclear weapons factory ceases operations
These fires forced the main American atomic bomb factory near the city of Amarillo to temporarily suspend its activities overnight. Several locations in these rural areas were evacuated.
According to the Texas Forest Service, the Smokehouse Creek disaster is “0% under control,” the largest in terms of area burned.
AFP
According to authorities in 1988, it is the second largest fire in Texas history, with more than 200,000 acres in smoke.
A total of six are described as “active” in a northern region that has lots of grass and arable land.
AFP
Everyday life there is largely disrupted. The small town of Fritch is largely without water and electricity, while the neighboring town of Borger has announced that it has opened shelters for evacuated residents. According to emergency services, some houses are still burning.
The Amarillo Weather Service forecasts “light winds” for Wednesday, which should facilitate firefighter response.
AFP
On Tuesday, strong winds fanned the fires and blew smoke toward Amarillo, where air quality was very poor.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster in 60 counties and allocated firefighting resources. There are 32 fires in Texas, 26 of which were described as under control as of Wednesday due to strong winds and unusually high temperatures.
The IPCC estimates that fires between 1984 and 2015 in the northwestern United States devastated twice as much land as if climate change had not occurred, namely an additional 4.9 million hectares, an area larger than Switzerland.