Texas wildfires

From hurricane season to ice storms, the way the state gets its alerts might change after scientists at NOAA and the National Weather Service were fired.

The Smokehouse Creek Fire burned over a million acres, and recovery is ongoing.

Among the proposals is a bill that would force more inspections of power lines, which a committee concluded ignited a blaze that burned more than 1 million acres last year.

Concerns are growing about a measles outbreak in West Texas as some legislators push to rollback vaccination requirements. It appears the threat of cutbacks from the federal government may already be having an effect on health services for veterans. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted targeted enforcement actions in Austin last month, and Hispanic business owners say the impact has been immediate. And: Nearly one year ago, downed power lines sparked wildfires that ultimately burned more than 1 million acres in the Texas Panhandle. The recovery effort is ongoing today. The post A year after the Smokehouse Creek Fire, recovery is still underway appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios — Podcasts.

A panel of Texas lawmakers heard testimony Tuesday about the investigation into what caused the largest wildfire in Texas history, which burned more than one million acres of the panhandle in late February and early March.

No state agency is taking responsibility for making sure the privately built lines that power many oil and gas sites are safe. Such lines have been blamed for sparking two recent Panhandle fires.

After more than a week of destruction, including thousands of dead livestock and hundreds of lost structures, firefighters now have two of the largest Texas Panhandle wildfires more under control.

The Smokehouse Creek Fire has burned over 1 million acres and is 44% contained.

Firefighting crews continue to battle the Smokehouse Creek fire in Hutchinson County. The wildfire has affected more than so far, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

At least 8,500 acres of Texas land have burned since Aug. 1. The governor’s disaster declaration allows included counties to access state resources to fight wildfires.