Texas Governor Issues Disaster Declaration as Panhandle Wildfires Grow

Wildfires continued to sweep across the Texas Panhandle on Feb. 28, prompting evacuations, cutting off power to thousands, the brief shutdown of a nuclear weapons facility, and the issuance of a disaster declaration by the governor. Strong winds, dry grass, and unseasonably warm temperatures fed the main blaze, the Smokehouse Creek fire, north of Amarillo. It quickly grew into the second-largest wildfire in the state’s history. As of the morning of Feb. 28, it had scorched an estimated 500,000 acres, or about 800 square miles, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. On Feb. 27, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties. He also directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to activate additional emergency response resources to assist local firefighters who are working to contain multiple wildfires spreading across the state....