Mary Wilson
Well-known member
Updated Feb 28, 2024 at 10:18 AM EST
By James Bickerton
Evacuations took place early on Wednesday from a nuclear weapons facility in Carson County, Texas, due to an outbreak of wildfire in the area.
The incident occurred in Pantex, situated around 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, which has been the main site in the U.S. for dismantling atomic bombs since 1975.
The Pantex site evacuated all non-essential personnel from the site overnight with employees constructing a fire barrier to protect the facility from the encroaching wildfire.
On X, formerly Twitter, Pantex confirmed there was no fire at the facility itself and "all weapons and special materials are safe and unaffected."
Laef Pendergraft, a spokesperson for the National Nuclear Security Administration's Production Office at Pantex, told a press conference: "We have evacuated our personnel, non-essential personnel from the site, just in an abundance of caution.
"But we do have a well-equipped fire department that has trained for these scenarios, that is on-site and watching and ready should any kind of real emergency arise on the plant site."
In a tweet a few hours later, Pantex said all employees had been accounted for and workers would be expected to report for their shifts as per usual on Wednesday. ...
https://www.newsweek.com/texas-wildfires-nuclear-weapons-facility-latest-1874081
By James Bickerton
Evacuations took place early on Wednesday from a nuclear weapons facility in Carson County, Texas, due to an outbreak of wildfire in the area.
The incident occurred in Pantex, situated around 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, which has been the main site in the U.S. for dismantling atomic bombs since 1975.
The Pantex site evacuated all non-essential personnel from the site overnight with employees constructing a fire barrier to protect the facility from the encroaching wildfire.
On X, formerly Twitter, Pantex confirmed there was no fire at the facility itself and "all weapons and special materials are safe and unaffected."
Laef Pendergraft, a spokesperson for the National Nuclear Security Administration's Production Office at Pantex, told a press conference: "We have evacuated our personnel, non-essential personnel from the site, just in an abundance of caution.
"But we do have a well-equipped fire department that has trained for these scenarios, that is on-site and watching and ready should any kind of real emergency arise on the plant site."
In a tweet a few hours later, Pantex said all employees had been accounted for and workers would be expected to report for their shifts as per usual on Wednesday. ...
https://www.newsweek.com/texas-wildfires-nuclear-weapons-facility-latest-1874081