Texas wildfires News

Texas Fires Have Emitted a Near-Record Amount of Carbon

Texas fires released roughly 3.4 million metric ton of carbon dioxide in January and February, according to a new analysis. In January, Texas fires pumped out 440,400 tons of CO2 emissions, according to Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service data shared with …

Texas Committee to Investigate Panhandle Wildfires

LUBBOCK — Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan is creating a legislative committee to investigate the Texas Panhandle wildfires to ensure the state is prepared for future disasters. His Tuesday announcement comes more than two weeks after the deadly infernos first …

Xcel Texas Wildfire Legal Reckoning to Take Years to Play Out

(Xcel Energy Inc. will likely be wrangling for years with the legal fallout from the wildfires burning through the Texas Panhandle. The experience of utility companies in California and Oregon sued over massive blazes sparked by downed power lines shows …

Texas Firefighters Make Progress Containing Panhandle Wildfires

LUBBOCK — Texas firefighters are gaining more control over the remaining wildfires in the Panhandle, more than two weeks after the infernos first engulfed large swaths of the region and burned more than 1 million acres. As of Monday, the …

Huge Texas Blaze Shows Power-Line Fires Are a Widespread Threat

Massive wildfires sparked by power lines used to be a California problem, one many utility executives considered safely confined to the Golden State. No more. Texas officials on Thursday blamed the state’s largest-ever fire on electrical lines sparking in dry …

Texas Utility Rules Didn’t Prevent 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 …

Huge Texas Blaze Shows Power-Line Fires Are a Widespread Threat

Massive wildfires sparked by power lines used to be a California problem, one many utility executives considered safely confined to the Golden State. No more. Texas officials on Thursday blamed the state’s largest-ever fire on electrical lines sparking in dry …

Texas Panhandle Ranchers Look to Rebuild After Wildfires

CANADIAN — Farmers and ranchers in the Panhandle lost livestock, buildings and infrastructure in the wildfires still raging through the region. Now they’re looking to rebuild. More than 100 people packed a room at the Hemphill County Exhibition Center on …

Many Texas Panhandle Homes Burned in Wildfires Weren’t Insured

FRITCH — Many Panhandle residents whose dwellings and possessions burned in the region’s ongoing wildfires may never financially recover for one simple reason: Their homes weren’t insured. “A lot of the people who have lost a home had no insurance,” …

Infernos Rage From Texas to Australia as Wildfire Season Kicks Off Early

After a year of deadly wildfires around the globe, the world is burning again from Texas to Australia — and in some regions, the blazes are igniting early. Canada’s Alberta province said last month that wildfire season had already begun, …