A spate of wildfires in Texas have damaged buildings and caused residents to evacuate their homes. Several fires near Eastland County, about 120 miles west of Dallas, have joined a larger wildfire that has now burned more than 45,000 acres.
Low humidity and strong winds prompted many wildfires, burning of homes and other structures, and the evacuation of hundreds of homes in small communities.
Firefighters in Texas hope to make progress on Saturday against a massive complex of wildfires that killed one person and burned at least 50 homes, officials said.
Winds were expected to subside on Saturday, with flames expected to attack, said Angel Lopez, a spokesman for the task force that attacked the wildfire complex near Eastland, about 120 miles west of Dallas. .
However, strong winds were expected to return on Sunday, raising the threat of wildfires to serious levels again in western and central Texas.
Governor Greg Abbott said at a news conference in Eastland late Friday that at least 50 homes had been destroyed by the flames and that more were likely to be found.
He declared disaster in the 11 counties most affected by the wildfires.
The Texas Forest Services warned that the fire could also affect parts of Oklahoma and Kansas. Nebraska was warned of extreme fire risk.
The Eastland County Sheriff’s Office releases more details on the death of Deputy Sgt. Barbara Fenley said that she died on Thursday while going door-to-door to evacuate people.
The statement said that “the last I heard was that she was going to check on an elderly man”, adding that Fenley had come under fire while running down the street because of her “extremely deteriorating condition and less than smoke.” visibility”.
According to the Texas Forest Service, as of Friday afternoon, the fire had burned about 330 square kilometers, about 185 square kilometers of the Eastland Complex.
The fire that broke out in that compound was brought under control late Friday night by only four per cent, with thick brush and grasslands burning.
About 18,000 people live in Eastland County. Texas Forest Service spokesman Matthew Ford said about 475 homes had been evacuated in the city of Gorman.
Several months of dry, windy weather have fueled deadly wildfires in Kansas and Oklahoma, including a few weeks ago.
Meteorologists said they expect rain in the plains early next week to reduce the risk.
“We have become so dry that even an inch of rain will make a difference,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Rob Lawson in Wichita, Kansas.
Smaller fires were burning in other parts of Texas, and Thursday’s low humidity and high winds created a perfect scenario for blazes to spiral out of control.
The Texas Forest Service warned of wildfires this week because of the forecast.
The fire caused haze hundreds of miles away, with the Houston Fire Department and the city’s Office of Emergency Management sending automated phone messages early Friday morning to alert area residents to smoke and ash.
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