Multiple fires, two of which remain completely uncontrolled, are still raging on Wednesday, February 28, in North Texas, where the flames have covered hundreds of thousands of hectares.
The fires forced the main American nuclear weapons factory, located near Amarillo, to suspend its activities overnight. Several localities were also evacuated.
The “Smokehouse Creek” fire, the largest in terms of area burned, is “0% under control,” according to the Texas Forest Service.
With more than 200,000 hectares up in smoke, it is the second largest fire in Texas history, according to official data, which dates back to 1988. In total, six are described as “active” in a northern region which has many meadows and agricultural lands. The small town of Fritch is largely without water and electricity, while the neighboring town of Borger has announced the opening of emergency accommodation for evacuated residents. Some houses are still burning, according to emergency services.
Light wind
The Amarillo weather service is forecasting light winds on Wednesday, which should make the work of firefighters easier. On Tuesday, strong winds fanned the fires and pushed the smoke towards Amarillo, where the air quality was very poor.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster in sixty counties, allowing additional resources to be released. Texas, where temperatures are abnormally high for the season, has thirty-two fires, twenty-six of which were considered under control on Wednesday.
According to estimates from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), fires ravaged twice as much area in the northwest United States between 1984 and 2015 due to climate change, which represents An additional 4.9 million hectares, an area larger than that of Switzerland.