A series of wildfires swept through the rural Texas Panhandle area early Wednesday, prompting evacuations, causing power outages for thousands, and leading to the shutdown of a nuclear facility, as strong winds, dry grass, and unusually warm temperatures exacerbated the fires. Local emergency officials reported that an unknown number of homes and other buildings in Hutchinson County were damaged or completely destroyed.
The primary facility, which assembles and dismantles the U.S. nuclear arsenal, suspended operations late Tuesday. The National Nuclear Security Administration at Pantex stated during a press conference, "We evacuated our non-essential employees from the site as a precaution. However, we have a well-equipped firefighting department trained for these scenarios on-site, monitoring and ready in case any real emergencies arise at the facility."
By early Wednesday, the facility reportedly returned to "normal daytime operations," and all employees were required to report to work according to their scheduled hours. The Pantex facility is located about 27.36 kilometers northeast of Amarillo and approximately 515 kilometers northwest of Dallas. Since 1975, it has been the primary site for assembling and dismantling U.S. atomic bombs, having assembled the last new bomb in 1991 while dismantling thousands of others.
Meanwhile, weather forecasts provided some hope for firefighting teams, as cooler temperatures, decreased wind intensity, and possible rain were expected on Thursday; however, the situation remained dire in some areas.
