Texas
Disaster declaration issued as Texas battles 'devastating' wildfires
“Devastating” wildfires in Texas have prompted a disaster declaration for dozens of counties and evacuation orders in parts of the Texas Panhandle.
Gov. Greg Abbott declared a disaster declaration for 60 counties on Tuesday due to “widespread wildfire activity throughout the state.”
Wildland Team members depart to operate amid the spread of fire in this picture obtained by Reuters on Feb. 27, 2024.
Flower Mound Texas Fire Department/via Reuters
The declaration will ensure that fire response resources are quickly deployed to “areas in the Texas Panhandle being impacted by devastating wildfires,” Abbott said in a statement Tuesday.
The Texas A&M Forest Service said it responded to 13 wildfires on Monday, with conditions on Tuesday ideal for more wildfire activity.
“Several large wildfires ignited under warm, dry and windy conditions across the Texas Panhandle,” the agency said on social media earlier Tuesday. “Today, strong winds will likely impact these wildfires and the potential for new ignitions remains.”
Fires continued to impact mainly the central and eastern portions of the Panhandles on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Among the blazes, the Smokehouse Creek Fire in Hutchinson County has burned 250,000 acres and is 0% contained as of Tuesday evening, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. There was “extreme fire behavior” associated with the wildfire on Tuesday, with wind gusts up to 60 mph and flames as high as 20 feet in grass, a spokesperson for the agency told ABC News.
Wildland Team members depart to operate amid the spread of fire in this picture obtained by Reuters on Feb. 27, 2024.
Flower Mound Texas Fire Department/via Reuters
The Windy Deuce Fire in Moore County has burned an estimated 20,000 acres and was 20% contained as of Tuesday evening, fire officials said.
“Fire behavior continues to be very active under the influence of high winds,” the Texas A&M Forest Service said on social media.
More than 40 houses were damaged in Fritch, a city located in Hutchinson and Moore counties, since Monday, the city said. Parts of the city have been evacuated.
Mandatory evacuations are in effect for several towns and communities in the Amarillo region, including Skellytown, Wheeler, Allison and Briscoe, the National Weather Service said Tuesday evening. Voluntary evacuations are in effect for Pampa, it said.
Abbott warned that the wildfires could grow in the coming days as high temperatures and windy conditions continue.
“Texans are urged to limit activities that could create sparks and take precautions to keep their loved ones safe,” he said.
Texas
North Texas probation officer accused of pressuring woman on probation for sexual favors, affidavit says
A Parker County probation officer was arrested and jailed after allegedly pressuring a woman whose case he oversaw to have sex with him, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by CBS News Texas.
Andy Dillard, 53, faces two charges of official oppression. He is currently out of jail on a $50,000 bond.
The Texas Rangers started investigating Dillard on Jan. 11 after the victim filed a report. She is currently on probation, and claimed that Dillard, a probation officer, who was overseeing her case, sent her graphic text messages and images and asked her for sex.
In court papers, the investigating officer said the victim showed him the sexually explicit messages from a phone number registered to Dillard. According to the affidavit, investigators later identified the phone number as an AT&T line registered to Dillard. The victim came forward because she said “she was afraid of not responding because Dillard was in charge of her freedom and could potentially revoke her probation,” according to a sworn statement from the investigating officer.
The affidavit states the victim told investigators the messages included explicit sexual requests, photographs and a video allegedly sent by Dillard, and that she repeatedly felt harassed and intimidated. She told investigators she had not engaged in sexual intercourse with Dillard but said he continued contacting her and trying to arrange meetings.
Official oppression is a Class A misdemeanor in Texas. If convicted, Dillard faces up to one year in jail on each count. The charges allege Dillard acted under color of his office as a public servant while supervising the woman’s probation case.
Texas just hit a huge milestone: It got more electricity from solar than it did from coal last year, a first for the second-biggest state in the country.
That’s a big shift from a few years prior. Back in 2020, the Texas grid got just 2% of its electricity from solar power and 18% from coal, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the grid for the vast majority of the state. In 2025, nearly 14% of ERCOT’s electricity came from solar — and just under 13% was produced by burning coal.
It makes sense that solar has taken off in Texas. Two things it has in spades are sunshine and land, and ERCOT’s competitive markets and fast interconnection processes are appealing to solar developers. In recent years, the state’s solar boom helped create one of the nation’s hottest markets for grid batteries, which in turn has strengthened the business case for installing even more solar.
Meanwhile, coal has been declining in Texas for more than a decade, knocked off balance first by a combination of fracked gas and cheap wind power.
Overall, however, fossil fuels still produce the majority of Texas’s electricity. The state got 54% of its power last year from coal and gas, with the latter fuel serving as Texas’ biggest source of electricity by a long shot.
It’s worth noting that solar beat out coal in what was a comeback year for the fossil fuel, in Texas and beyond. After two years of declines, coal generation jumped by 8% in Texas in 2025. But because solar grew so fast — by a staggering 41% last year — the clean-energy source eclipsed coal anyway.
Not everyone in Texas is happy about the rising tide of solar.
Some state Republicans have tried and failed, several times now, to limit the growth of clean energy. Instead, they’d like to see the construction of natural gas plants to meet the state’s surging electricity demand. But Texas faces the same reality as the rest of the country: Solar and storage are simply too cheap and easy to deny.
The Texas Longhorns are making a major addition to their offensive line through the transfer portal once again.
And no, it’s not quite yet a commitment from Colorado offensive tackle Jordan Seaton.
However, Texas is still beefing up its offensive line in a massive way.
Texas Lands Wake Forest OT Transfer Melvin Siani
Per report from On3’s Hayes Fawcett, Texas has landed a commitment from Wake Forest offensive lineman transfer Melvin Siani, who has reportedly already signed with the team. He allowed just nine pressures and zero sacks on 858 snaps at left tackle this season, per CJ Vogel of OnTexasFootball.
Siani’s commitment to Texas comes only a few hours after he entered the portal on Thursday with a “do not contact” tag. The Longhorns moved in quickly and got the deal done.
Siani started his college career at Temple, where he appeared in 15 games with nine starts for the Owls during the 2023 and ’24 seasons.
He then transferred to Wake Forest last offseason and played just one year for the Demon Deacons before hitting the portal again.
Siani now joins a Texas portal class that features Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman, NC State running back Hollywood Smothers, LSU lineman Zion Williams, Arizona State running back Raleek Brown, Pitt linebacker Rasheem Biles, Florida State linebacker Justin Cryer, Oregon State offensive lineman Dylan Sikorski, Texas A&M offensive lineman Jonte Newman, Michigan State tight end Michael Masunas and Arkansas defensive end Ian Geffrard.
Additionally, the Longhorns added three players to their special teams unit in Memphis kicker Gianni Spetic, Florida State punter Mac Chiumento and New Mexico long snapper Trey Dubuc.
What This Means for Texas’ Pursuit of Jordan Seaton
All eyes remain on the decision of Colorado offensive lineman transfer Jordan Seaton, who is currently the top player available in the portal with the transfer window nearing a close.
Some fans might think that Siani’s addition means the Longhorns are out on Seaton, but that’s not necessarily the case quite yet. Time will tell how things play out in that regard.
Texas still has a visit set with Seaton in Austin on Friday and will need to close the deal to avoid a team like the Oregon Ducks pouncing on the Colorado transfer. The Longhorns are also hosting Jacksonville State offensive tackle Mason Barton for a visit.
Siani’s commitment is still big for Texas when it comes to adding another body to an offensive line room where the depth is thin, but Seaton remains the priority for the Longhorns.
Texas has already retained multiple important names on the offensive line, including offensive tackle Trevor Goosby and center Connor Robertson, but have also lost offensive lineman Nick Brooks.
But regardless of what happenes with Seaton, Texas can feel good about its depth with Siani, Newman and Sikorski joining the fold.
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