Texas Issues State of Emergency for Wildfires

February and March are two of the coldest months of the year, but that has not stopped wildfires from rampaging across the second-largest state in the USA, and the largest of the 48 contiguous states. To that end, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has enacted a State of Emergency.

Details

The Declaration is extremely vague in its wording, but the fact that it is being hosted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on their website lends credence to the idea that it is applicable to truckers. In short, the Declaration says:
“To the extent that the enforcement of any state statute or administrative rule regarding contracting or procurement would impede any state agency’s emergency response that is necessary to protect life or property threatened by this declared disaster, I hereby authorize the suspension of such statutes and rules for the duration of this declared disaster.”

This means that it is likely that the Texas state government will work with trucking companies in order to get delivered firefighting goods and other relief supplies for those who have been impacted by the wildfires.

The Declaration is applicable in the following counties, as well as their approximate sizes in square miles:

• Archer: 920 sq mi
• Armstrong: 914
• Bailey: 827
• Baylor: 871
• Briscoe: 900
• Carson: 924
• Castro: 899
• Childress: 696
• Cochran: 780
• Collingsworth: 919
• Cottle: 902
• Crosby: 899
• Dallam: 1502
• Deaf Smith: 1496
• Dickens: 903
• Donley: 926
• Fannin: 899
• Floyd: 993
• Foard: 709
• Garza: 896
• Gray: 928
• Gregg: 273
• Hale: 1013
• Hall: 883
• Hansford: 920
• Hardeman: 697
• Harrison: 916
• Hartley: 1460
• Haskell: 910
• Hemphill: 913
• Hockley: 909
• Hutchinson: 894
• Kent: 903
• King: 913
• Knox: 855
• Lamb: 1012
• Lipscomb: 932
• Lubbock: 901
• Lynn: 893
• Moore: 909
• Motley: 990
• Nacogdoches: 947
• Newton: 940
• Ochiltree: 918
• Oldham: 1500
• Parmer: 883
• Potter: 909
• Randall: 911
• Roberts: 924
• Sherman: 923
• Stonewall: 921
• Swisher: 901
• Terry: 891
• Throckmorton: 915
• Upshur: 590
• Wheeler: 915
• Wichita: 628
• Wilbarger: 971
• Yoakum: 799
• Young: 919

This may seem like a lot in a vacuum, but Texas has 254 counties, and about 268,600 square miles, the Declaration only applies to around 21% of all land.

Conclusion

Everyone knows the saying that April showers bring May flowers, which will hopefully be the case here, as a downpour of rain would be tantamount to an end of the scorching wildfires Texas is experiencing.

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