Nuclear weapons production facility located near the city of Amarillo in the north Texas announced today that it is resuming its normal operations after being forced to suspend them due to forestry fires that rage in the area. “The Pantex plant is operating as normal today, Wednesday, February 28, all personnel must report to their positions according to their assigned shifts,” pointed out plant management in X.
A little earlier the Texas A&M Forestry Service announced that 25 of the 31 wildfires raging in the state have now been brought under control, but clarified that the largest of them remains out of control and has already destroyed more than 1,200 square kilometers.
Satellite images showed fires spreading near Amarillo to the north Texasdue to strong winds and abnormally high temperatures for the season, the weather service said.
The Pantex production facility, located 34 kilometers from the city of Amarillo, had earlier announced that it would suspend operations and construct a fire barrier to protect its facilities. “Operations at the Pantex plant have been suspended until further notice. All weapons and special materials are safe and have not been affected by the fire,” assured the unit's management company. The American ones are assembled in this factory nuclear weaponsspecial nuclear materials are tested and high explosives are manufactured.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared 60 counties in the state a state of disaster on Tuesday, freeing up resources to fight the wildfires.
“Texans are urged to limit activities that could cause a fire and take steps to protect themselves,” Abbott said in a statement.
The Amarillo Weather Service advised citizens to stay indoors. “Air quality remains moderate in the Amarillo area (…) while smoke continues to spread southward,” he explained to X.
Several cities, some as far as 100 miles (160 km) from Amarillo, issued evacuation orders, closed roads and asked citizens to stay indoors or seek shelter in public buildings.
Source: News Beast
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