Texas Nationalists Rage at Wildfire Response

A leading Texas nationalist has condemned the federal government over its response to a series of wildfires that have torn across the state panhandle since Monday, and argued the Lone Star State would be better placed to respond if it were an independent country.

The comments were made by Daniel Miller, president of the Texas Nationalist Movement, which campaigns for Texan independence. He told Newsweek "the federal government is one of the least efficient managers of disaster relief."

An area of more than 1 million acres across the state was ablaze as of 3.30 a.m. ET on Thursday, with at least 23 fires underway, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. The largest inferno, cited at Smokehouse Creek, extended over 850,000 acres and had only been 3 percent contained.

Joyce Blankenship, an 83-year-old grandmother, was confirmed on Wednesday to have been killed as a result of the blaze after her body was recovered from Stinnett.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties in the state, vowing to "ensure critical fire response resources are swiftly deployed to areas in the Texas Panhandle being impacted by devastating wildfires."

Speaking to Newsweek, Miller argued Texas could respond better to natural disasters such as wildfires if it left the American Union.

"Texans take care of Texans," he said. "When disaster strikes, the federal government is one of the least efficient managers of disaster relief. They're always a day late and a dollar short - every single time. This is why the best disaster response for Texas has been Texans.

"Right now, the fires are a Texas issue. The governor has made an emergency declaration, and every resource is being poured into saving lives and homes as well as stopping the spread of the wildfires.

"This will likely reopen the debate about the federal government's role in disaster relief and, specifically, unlocking federal funds for disaster relief and recovery. Those opposed to TEXIT [Texan independence] will trot out the same old argument that Texas couldn't do it on its own while ignoring the fact that if Texas kept its tax money here in Texas, there would be no need to ask the federal government for any of it back.

"Why should Texans have to beg the federal government for taxpayer dollars to help our people? If Texas was independent, we would keep that money right here in Texas and use it in ways that could mitigate and immediately respond to natural disasters. Texans know Texas best, and Texas independence would help our citizens even more in times of need."

Newsweek contacted the Federal Emergency Management Agency for comment by email at around 5:10 a.m. ET.

Efforts to contain the wildfires are being assisted by volunteer firefighters, some of whom spent more than 28 hours battling the infernos, according to comments made to Fox News by Zeb Smith, the fire chief at a volunteer department in Fritch.

Early on Wednesday, 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.

Tensions surged between Texan authorities and the Biden administration in January when the Supreme Court ruled federal agents could remove razor wire placed along the Texas-Mexico border to deter illegal migrants on the orders of Governor Greg Abbott. In response, Texan nationalists renewed their calls for the state to leave the Union.

A Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey of 1,500 eligible voters across the United States found 27 percent of Americans would support Texas becoming an independent country, against 36 percent who were actively opposed.