Greg Abbott Feels the Heat

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is facing social media calls to deploy the state's National Guard as wildfires continue to tear their way across the state panhandle.

By 3.30 a.m. ET on Thursday there were at least 23 fires underway across Texas with an area of more than one million acres ablaze. The largest fire, situated around Smokehouse Creek, was over 850,000 acres in size and had only been three percent contained according to authorities. On Wednesday the first fatality linked to the fires was confirmed after the body of 83-year-old Joyce Blankenship was recovered from Stinnett.

Posting on X, formerly Twitter, a number of commentators asked why Texas National Guard troops hadn't been dispatched to help with the rescue effort. Currently thousands of National Guard soldiers are deployed along Texas's southern border under Operation Lone Star, which Abbott launched in 2021 to try and stop illegal migrants entering the state.

Michelle, an X user from Texas, shared a news article confirming the Smokehouse Creek blaze had become the second biggest in Texas's history adding: "Greg Abbott send in the national guard you freaking monster."

Sarah Spector, a Texas-based political and legal commentator, shared the same article commenting: "Dear Greg Abbott: Texas is burning. While our national guard is busy at the border preventing the Border Patrol from saving drowning children, our state is in flames. Come on up to Amarillo, you can foresee what your afterlife will look like when you are burning in hell."

Abbott was also criticized by Matt Angle, director of the anti-Republican Texas campaign group 'Lone Star Project', after he posted on Twitter about the suspected murder of nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant. Angle shared Abbott's post adding: "The TX [Texas] Panhandle is literally on fire, and Greg Abbott is running his mouth while making the border far worse. Greg, you are a disgrace."

A fourth X user commented: "Why aren't all the Republican governors who sent National Guard to Texas not directing the National Guard to help wildfires? It's like the care about scoring political points at the border that they forgot what actually will help in our times of need."

Newsweek has contacted Gov. Greg Abbott's press office for comment by email.

On Wednesday, although he didn't deploy the National Guard, Abbott instructed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to deploy more resources to combat the fires and raised the readiness level of the Texas State Emergency Operations Center to Level II, meaning an escalated response.

He said: "As dangerous wildfires continue to impact the Texas Panhandle, I directed TDEM to immediately deploy additional wildfire responses to ensure the safety of Texans and impacted communities.

"I encourage Texans in affected areas to heed the guidance of local officials and first responders and to take all necessary precautions to keep your family and loved ones safe. We continue to work alongside TDEM, local officials, and emergency response personnel to provide all available resources to protect our fellow Texans."

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, non-essential staff were evacuated from the Pantex nuclear weapons facility around 17 miles northeast of Amarillo due to an encroaching wildfire, though the blaze didn't reach the base and employees have since returned to work.