America’s primary nuclear weapons assembly plant—based near Amarillo, Texas— was forced to pause operations on Tuesday night as a precautionary measure as areas in the Texas Panhandle battled the rapid spread of uncontrolled wildfires.
A rapidly spreading wildfire forced authorities to issue evacuation orders in several small towns in ... [+]
The Pantex plant said operations are paused until further notice, but added that “All weapons and special materials are safe and unaffected.”
National Nuclear Security Administration official Laef Pendergraft told reporters at a press conference late Tuesday that nonessential personnel were evacuated from the site out of an “abundance of caution,” but a “well-equipped fire department” remained on site to tackle any potential emergency if needed.
The NNSA official added there was no fire “on our site or on our boundary” at the time of the press conference.
The facility later announced it had completed its “employee accountability process” and all employees “have been accounted for.”
Pantex spokesperson Steve Meyers said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone as we go through this tonight, and hopefully we'll get through this with no injuries or casualties.”