Energy weapons, blue roofs and food supply attacks: Texas wildfires revive baseless claims

As Texas tries to contain the biggest wildfire in the state’s history, baseless conspiracy theories that first circulated online after other well-known fires are resurfacing.

More than 1 million acres of land have burned so far in Texas from the wildfires, which began in late February. The Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest of the fires, has killed at least two people and thousands of animals in a state known for its cattle industry.

False claims about government attacks with directed energy weapons and certain homes painted blue being spared that first surfaced last year during devastating wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, are now being applied to Texas. Other social media users have revived a long-running conspiracy about attacks on the U.S. food supply by nefarious, unnamed forces. 

Here are some of the false claims circulating on social media about the Texas wildfires.

No proof of ‘deliberate’ attack on food supply

In the past two years, PolitiFact has debunked numerous claims that unknown actors are attacking the nation’s food supply, targeting farms and food processing facilities to starve people.

The claim of food supply attacks resurfaced after wildfires ravaged ranges in the Texas Panhandle and killed thousands of livestock animals. This claim is False. There’s no evidence the fires were set intentionally and experts we spoke with said the fires’ effect on the nation’s food supply likely would be minimal.

Texas authorities, as of March 6, continue to investigate the Smokehouse Creek fire’s cause, but they have not suggested it was intentionally ignited. Hot weather, dry land and high winds have helped spread the still-burning blaze. One homeowner has sued a utility company for not maintaining a damaged power pole, alleging downed power lines started the fire.

(Instagram screenshot)

Directed energy weapons didn’t start the wildfires

Some social media users said a video of a green laser beam is evidence that directed energy weapons were used to start the Texas wildfires. This claim is False.

The green laser beam video predates the Texas wildfires. It was shared online as early as Dec. 31, 2023, from an account known for videos that purport to show paranormal or extraterrestrial activity.

Other online claims baselessly alleged that directed energy weapons were used to start deadly fires that ravaged Maui in August 2023; wildfires there killed more than 100 people and destroyed thousands of buildings in the town of Lahaina.  

PolitiFact has also debunked similar claims that those weapons were used to start fires in Canada and Russia.

Directed energy weapons are real, and the United States and other countries are researching them for military purposes, but there’s no evidence they were used to ignite the Texas wildfires.

President Joe Biden’s comments didn’t prove ‘blue roof’ conspiracy theory

Social media users took comments that Biden made about a home that avoided burning during the Texas wildfires to revive a conspiracy theory that first surfaced in the Maui wildfires.

“If you fly over these areas that are burned to the ground, you’ll see in the midst of 20 homes that are just totally destroyed, one home sitting there because it had the right roof on it,” Biden said.

One Instagram post showed the clip of Biden with text saying, “Remember the blue roofs during the Lahaina fires? Biden just seemed to confirm our suspicions.”

This claim is False.

“Blue roofs” refers to baseless claims that celebrities were painting their Maui roofs blue and that those homes were spared by directed energy weapons.

Experts we spoke to about the Maui claims said it’s common for fires to “hop” from place to place via flying embers and for some structures or trees not to ignite, even if everything around them does.

Biden was not talking about roof colors, a longer video of his comments shows. He was saying some roofs were intact because the structures were up to code, not because they were painted blue.

(Instagram screenshot)

Photo doesn’t show Smokehouse Creek fire; it’s from 2017

A Facebook post claimed a photo showed the Texas wildfire, but the image was first posted in 2017. This claim is False. 

A reverse-image search showed the photo was from an August 2017 Texas Monthly article about a fire in Gray County, Texas.

PolitiFact staff writers Sara Swann and Loreben Tuquero contributed to this report.