DEVELOPING: Massive Wildfires Engulf Parts of Texas Panhandle – 60 Counties Under Threat – Evacuations Underway (VIDEO)

by | Feb 27, 2024 | Aggregate

Massive wildfires engulfed parts of the Texas panhandle on Tuesday amid gusty winds and unseasonably warm weather.

60 counties are under emergency declaration because of the fires. Evacuations are underway for some residents.

WATCH:

Additional footage of the wildfires:

Fire crossing Hwy 83 again 7 miles south of Canadian. #txwx pic.twitter.com/4bvzaXe4Fd

— Chad Casey (@WxFanaticCC) February 27, 2024

According to Texas Storm Chasers, winds shifted at 5 pm local time. A cold front is expected to move through the area Tuesday evening.

356PM: Historic wildfire outbreak underway in parts of the Texas Panhandle. North wind shift by 5 PM! Multiple towns are under immediate threat. Evacuate if told, but shelter in place if it is too late to leave. This is a life-threatening situation. #PHwx #txfire #WindyDeuceFire… pic.twitter.com/QfnGWsYHn2

— Texas Storm Chasers (@TxStormChasers) February 27, 2024

CNN reported:

A massive blaze that’s raging out of control is threatening Texas Panhandle towns and forcing residents to evacuate.

The Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest wildfire burning in the region, has exploded to 200,000 acres since igniting Monday afternoon, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

The blaze, driven by gusty winds and fueled by dry, unseasonably warm conditions, is moving incredibly rapidly and remains 0% contained.

Evacuations were ordered early Tuesday afternoon for parts of Hemphill and Roberts counties as the fire encroached on populated areas. This includes the town of Canadian, Texas, around an hour and half northeast of Amarillo, Texas.

Parts of Fritch, Texas, which straddles Moore and Hutchinson counties to the north of Amarillo, are also under an evacuation order for a separate fire, city officials and the Texas A&M Forest Service said.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott released a statement on the wildfires.

“I issued a disaster declaration today to deploy resources to 60 counties impacted by these devastating wildfires,” Abbott said. “Please take all precautions to protect yourself & your loved ones.”

“Thanks to the brave firefighters working 24/7 to protect their fellow Texans,” Abbott said of the wildfires.

I issued a disaster declaration today to deploy resources to 60 counties impacted by these devastating wildfires.

Please take all precautions to protect yourself & your loved ones.

Thanks to the brave firefighters working 24/7 to protect their fellow Texans.

Stay safe, Texas. pic.twitter.com/m25hpFiAx1

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) February 27, 2024

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Huge Number of Americans Fear Free Speech Disintegrating

by | Feb 27, 2024 | Aggregate

This article originally appeared on WND.com

Guest by post by Bob Unruh 

Many think First Amendment ‘goes too far in the rights it guarantees’

Free speech fights are becoming more and more common these days, as social media play a growing role in people’s lives and the leftist corporate owners insist more and more that only their views should be allowed to be disseminated to the public.

Even Joe Biden’s administration tried to use public money to set up what was described as essentially the same as the “Ministry of Truth” found in the dystopian novel “1984.”

The result isn’t good, according to a new poll, which reveals only 1 in 4 Americans think their right to free speech is secure, and more than two-thirds say the nation’s trajectory on free speech is going the wrong way.

The poll is from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and the Polarization Research Lab.

When asked about “whether people are able to freely express their views,” 69% of respondents said things in America are heading in the wrong direction, compared to only 31% who believe that things are heading in the “right direction,” the polling revealed.

Almost one-third of the respondents, 29%, said free speech is not at all secure.

“The average American already thinks that free speech in America is in dire straits. Most worryingly, they think it will get worse,” said FIRE chief research Adviser Sean Stevens. “These findings should be a wake-up call for the nation to recommit to a vibrant free speech culture before it’s too late.”

The poll was done Jan. 12-19 and FIRE said it is the first installment of a National Speech Index, a new quarterly survey intended to measure support for the First Amendment.

“Polarization not only divides Americans on policy, but it fractures our assessments of the stability of the bedrock features of our democracy,” said PRL Director Sean Westwood. “Nearly half of Democrats think free speech rights are headed in the right direction, compared to only 26 percent of Republicans. And more than a third of Republicans think the right to free speech is not secure, compared to only 17 percent of Democrats.”

The groups reported, “One alarmingly common belief that crosses partisan lines is that idea that the First Amendment ‘goes too far in the rights it guarantees.’ Around a third of Republicans and a third of Democrats ‘completely’ or ‘mostly’ agree with that statement. ”

The survey proposed several statements that, though offensive to some, are protected by the First Amendment.

“Roughly half of respondents (52%) said their community should not allow a public speech that espouses the belief they selected as the most offensive. A supermajority, 69%, said their local college should not allow a professor who espoused that belief to teach classes,” the report said.

Stevens said the results were not surprising, but were disappointing.

“Here at FIRE, we’ve long observed that many people who say they’re concerned about free speech waver when it comes to beliefs they personally find offensive. But the best way to protect your speech in the future is to defend the right to controversial and offensive speech today.”

Copyright 2024 WND News Center

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