An aerial view of the wildfires in Texas yesterday (Picture: Patrick Ryan/Reuters)
America’s main nuclear weapons plant was evacuated last night as fierce wildfires burn nearby.
Pantex, the centre for assembling and disassembling the US nuclear arsenal, said last night that it had shut down operations until further notice.
After fires nearby were brought under control, it reopened this morning for ‘normal day shift operations’ with all personnel asked to report for duty.
Last night the company warned the fire near Pantex is ‘not contained’ saying: Response efforts have shifted to evacuations. There is a small number of non-essential personnel sheltered on-site.’
Strong winds, dry grass and unusually warm temperatures fuelled the blaze in the rural Panhandle of Texas.
Republican governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties yesterday as the largest fire burned nearly 400 square miles.
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Dash cam footage from a fire engine driving towards the Smokehouse Creek Fire, near Amarillo, today (Picture: AFP)
Skies turned grey with soot in Canadian, Texas (Picture: Loren Engert/Facebook)
The Pantex nuclear weapons plant near Amarillo in Texas (Picture: Pantex)
Pantex, near Amarillo, has been the main assembly and disassembly site for atomic bombs in the States since 1975.
It assembled the last new bomb in 1991, but in the time since it has dismantled thousands of weapons.
Governor Abbot did not say what had caused the blaze but said Texans ‘are urged to limit activities that could create sparks and take precautions to keep their loved ones safe’.
Residents were also warned to evacuate, with buses put on for some to go south including those living in Pampa – though they were able to return home last night.
To the west, at least some residents in the small city of Fritch were told to leave their homes n because of another fire that had jumped a motorway.
‘Everything south of Highway 146 in Fritch evacuate now!’ city officials said on Facebook.
This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.
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