Firefighters from North Texas have been deployed to the Panhandle area to battle the out-of-control wildfires that are burning north and northeast of Amarillo.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties.
The Texas A&M Forest Service says the biggest fire, the Smokehouse Creek Fire, has burned nearly 500 square miles. That's more than doubled since Monday.
Fire departments from Flower Mound and Greenville have already dispatched crews and equipment to help in the fight. Strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures are feeding the flames.
Around 10 a.m. Wednesday, the Fort Worth Fire Department also deployed help, sending 15 firefighters, two brush trucks and one pickup truck. In a message posted on Twitter/X, the fire department says they plan to be out there roughly for about 14 days and will rotate as necessary.
Pantex, a weapons plant that assembles and disassembles America's nuclear arsenal, closed down operations last night but says it will be open for normal operations today. Pantex is about 17 miles northeast of Amarillo.
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