Texas News

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Voters in the Texas Panhandle will be heading to the polls on Tuesday amid historic wildfires, casting ballots in a handful of high-stakes primary races as more than a million acres continue to burn and emergency officials order mass evacuations. Candidates continued their campaigns at a subdued pace in the final days before…

As fire officials look into the causes of the Panhandle wildfires, lawyers of landowners are zeroing in on a downed Xcel Energy Co. power line located ​​outside Stinnett. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday, Xcel Energy revealed it had received a letter from attorneys asking the company to preserve a fallen utility pole near where the Smokehouse Creek Fire may have started. The filing does not name the law firm but…

“Our hearts go out to all those impacted by this disaster,” H-E-B Group VP of Public Affairs, Diversity and Environmental Affairs Winell Herron said. TEXAS, USA — H-E-B on Saturday announced that it, along with Chairman Charles Butt, has committed a total of $1 million to wildfire recovery efforts in the Texas Panhandle. According to the store, Butt donated $500,000 to the State of Texas Agriculture Relief Fund (STAR), a fund that supports agricultural workers…

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. As firefighters battle the raging Smokehouse Creek fire, Gov. Greg Abbott said the cause of the fire — which covers more than 550 miles — is under investigation. He had not received an official report as of Friday. The fire, which is the largest in Texas history and has burned more than 1…

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. FRITCH — Blankets. Family photos. Toiletries. An old prom dress. These were some of the personal belongings Deana McBroom organized into piles when she heard fires had begun to encroach on her neighborhood. At a moment’s notice, she could just take them. There was still time, she said. Then, on Tuesday, her phone…

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. The largest wildfire in Texas history has devastated the state’s agriculture, blazing through more than 1 million acres of land in the Panhandle, killing thousands of livestock, destroying crops and gutting infrastructure. The agriculture industry, a big driver of the state’s economy, was already facing pressures from prolonged and widespread drought that forced…

In his first update from the Texas Panhandle since the region was engulfed in flames earlier this week, Gov. Greg Abbott described a scene of total destruction throughout multiple counties. “When you look at damages that have occurred here, it’s just gone, completely gone, nothing left but ashes on the ground,” Abbott said. “Those who are affected by this have gone through utter devastation.” Abbott said that according to a premature assessment of the region,…

Smoke from wildfires alone can pose a serious health threat, especially for kids, older adults and those with chronic heart or lung disease and asthma. Exposure to wildfire smoke can trigger asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes. It can cause eye and respiratory irritation, coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing. Wildfires can also create a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Inhaling carbon monoxide can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness and, in high concentrations, premature death. Texans can…