Texas battles second-biggest wildfire disaster in state history

Texas is battling its second-largest fire in history, with more than 850,000 acres of land burned north of the city of Amarillo. 

The fire is rapidly spreading and has killed one person, forced residents to evacuate, cut off power to homes and businesses and briefly paused operations at a nuclear weapons facility. 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties.

Dry grass, high temperatures and strong winds have fuelled the conflagration.

The Texas A&M Forest Service said that the winds had diminished slightly, helping to moderate the fire’s spread. It remained 3% contained as of Wednesday afternoon, however.

Rain was expected in the state’s northern panhandle on Thursday, which may aid efforts to extinguish the blaze.