Multiple fires raged Wednesday in North Texas, two of which remained completely uncontrolled, burning hundreds of thousands of hectares and pushing residents from their homes, according to authorities.
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These fires forced the main American nuclear bomb factory, near the city of Amarillo, to temporarily interrupt its activities overnight. Several localities located in these rural areas were evacuated.
The “Smokehouse Creek” disaster, the largest in terms of burned area, is “0% under control,” according to the Texas Forest Service.
AFP
With more than 200,000 hectares up in smoke, it is the second largest fire in Texas history, according to authorities data dating back to 1988.
A total of six are described as being “active” in a northern region that has many grasslands and farmland.
AFP
Daily 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. Some houses are still burning, according to emergency services.
The Amarillo Weather Service is forecasting “light winds” for Wednesday, which should make firefighter operations easier.
AFP
On Tuesday, strong winds fanned the fires and blew the smoke towards Amarillo, where the air quality was very poor.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster in 60 counties, releasing resources to fight the fires. Texas has 32 fires, 26 of which are described as under control on Wednesday, following strong winds and unseasonably high temperatures.
According to IPCC estimates, fires ravaged twice as much land in the northwest of the United States between 1984 and 2015 as if climate change had not existed, i.e. 4.9 million additional hectares, a area larger than Switzerland.
