Texas requires utilities to plan for emergencies. That didn’t stop the Panhandle wildfires.
Before it burned to a pile of ashes, Melanie McQuiddy’s house on the outskirts of Canadian was her family’s home base. Her daughter and grandchildren flocked there for holidays. At Christmastime, she put a tree in every room and transformed herself into “Mimi-Claus,” complete with a wig and red costume dress. The family considered the home a place of joy, laughter and shenanigans, she said.
Many homes burned in Texas wildfires uninsured, creating a steep path to recovery On Thursday, the Texas A&M Forest Service said its investigators determined that power lines caused the Smokehouse Creek Fire, which burned McQuiddy’s house, as well as another fire called Windy Deuce. Utility company Xcel Energy said it appeared that its equipment was involved in igniting the Smokehouse Creek Fire. But the company denied that it was negligent in maintaining it.
The largest Texas wildfire ever was 74% contained as of Friday. What does that mean exactly? Reinvesting in the system offers a chance to improve for the future. The National Electrical Safety Code generally says that utilities should follow good practices, but it doesn’t necessarily define what they are, said Alison Silverstein, an energy consultant. And many of the specifics that do exist, such as wind resistance standards, weren’t written for extreme weather fueled by climate change.
Nigeria Latest News, Nigeria Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Evacuation order: Rapidly expanding wildfires in the Texas Panhandle prompt warningsRapidly expanding wildfires fueled by surging winds have prompted safety warnings for several towns and at least one evacuation order in the far northern Texas…
Read more »
Thousands ordered to shelter in place as wildfires engulf Texas PanhandleNearly 5,000 residents in the Panhandle cities of Canadian, Fritch and Glazier have been ordered to shelter in place as four separate wildfires burn more than 230,000 acres. Evacuation efforts were hindered as the main roadway was blocked by the fire.
Read more »
Supreme Court hearing over 'bump stocks' ban and Texas Panhandle wildfire: Morning RundownElizabeth Robinson is a newsletter editor for NBC News, based in Los Angeles.
Read more »
Texas Panhandle wildfire grows to the second-largest in state historyThe Smokehouse Creek Fire in Hutchinson County is now the second-largest wildfire in Texas history.
Read more »
Texas Panhandle wildfires merge, become largest in state history at over 1 million acresMultiple wildfires scorching the Texas Panhandle had merged as of Thursday morning, creating the largest wildfire in state history at more than one million...
Read more »
Texas Panhandle wildfire turns deadly, now the largest in state historyThe Smokehouse Creek fire in the Texas Panhandle has now burned more than 1 million acres.
Read more »