A nuclear weapons plant in the US state of Texas said it would be open as usual on Wednesday after raging wildfires caused it to pause operations and led to evacuations in the area.
“The Pantex Plant is open for normal day shift operations for Wednesday, February 28; all personnel are to report for duty according to their assigned schedule,” plant operators said in a post on X. The Pantex facility, located 34 kilometres from Amarillo, assembles and disassembles the United States’ nuclear stockpiles, carries out special nuclear material testing and manufactures high explosives.
The Pantex Plant is open for normal day shift operations for Wednesday, February 28; all personnel are to report for duty according to their assigned schedule.— Pantex Plant (@PantexPlant) February 28, 2024
Five fires were burning uncontained early Wednesday near the northern city of Amarillo, with the largest blaze having burnt 300,000 acres, according to US media reports. Satellite imagery showed fires spreading southwards near Amarillo, fanned by strong winds and unseasonably warm temperatures, according to the local office of the National Weather Service.
The Pantex plant had earlier announced it was halting operations and had constructed a fire barrier to protect its facilities. It also said only essential staff remained at the facility overnight. Across Texas, 25 of 31 active fires were under control, Texas A&M Forest Service data showed.
Issuing a disaster declaration for 60 counties to ensure critical resources are swiftly deployed to communities impacted by wildfires.Texans are urged to limit activities that could create sparks & take precautions to keep their loved ones safe.
More: https://t.co/5iaeNwCPw0 pic.twitter.com/O8GGYeQo7o
— Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) February 27, 2024
Texas governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties on Tuesday, freeing up fire response resources. “Texans are urged to limit activities that could create sparks and take precautions to keep their loved ones safe,” Abbott said in a statement. Amarillo’s weather service warned people to stay indoors. “Air quality remains poor in the Amarillo area… as smoke continues to stream southward,” it said in a post on X.
Several towns, some up to 160 kilometres from Amarillo, issued evacuation orders, closing roads and ordering citizens to take shelter at home or in public facilities. Fires reportedly caused serious damage to buildings in Texas’s Hutchinson county. More than 200 people were sheltering in a church in Fritch, 35 miles from Amarillo, after fires caused them to flee their homes, media reported. More than 4,000 Texans were left without power as of early Wednesday, according to the US outage tracker PowerOutage.
(With agency inputs)
Comments
0 comment