The Associated Press
By MATT CURRY
KENNEDALE, Texas — Fires fueled by dry brush and driven by gusty wind raced across parts of Texas and Oklahoma on Tuesday, killing at least one person, damaging scores of homes and forcing the evacuation of a small town.
In Cross Plains, a town of about 1,000 people 150 miles southwest of Dallas, at least 25 homes and a church were burned and residents evacuated.
“All day today there was so much smoke it was like nighttime,” rancher Dean Dillard said.
Gov. Rick Perry deployed state firefighters and issued a disaster declaration after at least 73 fires were reported burning in the northern and central parts of the state.
“It’s like trying to stop a 30-mph car coming down the street,” Texas Deputy Fire Marshal Keith Ebel said. “The wind is the worst enemy right now.”
Drought and windy conditions help set the stage for the wildfires, which authorities believe were mainly set by people ignoring fire bans and burning trash, shooting fireworks or tossing cigarettes on the crunchy, brown grass.
In Cooke County, near the Texas-Oklahoma border, an elderly woman was killed, said Texas Forest Service spokeswoman Traci Weaver. No details were available.
In Oklahoma, the biggest fire burned at least 400 acres in a rural area near the town of Mustang, southwest of Oklahoma City.
After the flames passed, residents emerged and were “watering their yards and standing in their yards,” said Harold Percival, who lives about a mile from the Mustang fire.
“It just kept jumping. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Hankins’ friend, Maria Vantour-Smith. They were able to remove a few antiques and other items from the home before it was gutted.
At least two Oklahoma firefighters were being treated for smoke inhalation or heat exhaustion, authorities said. In Texas, at least three firefighters were hospitalized with smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion, authorities said.
In Oklahoma City, a child suffered minor burns on his hands when a shed caught fire. That blaze was apparently started by children playing with fireworks, Oklahoma City Fire Maj. Brian Stanaland said. In Texas, blazes were sparked the same way in Granbury and Kennedale, communities south of Forth Worth.
“We’ve had warm temperatures, no moisture, low humidity and winds, so any little spark and man it just goes,” Stanaland said.
Fire burned across Bryan County in southeastern Oklahoma. The most severe blaze destroyed at least three structures near Achille and resulted in an unknown number of injuries, mostly from smoke inhalation, said Tim Cooke, the county’s emergency management director.
“Our entire county is just about on fire,” Cooke said. “It’s everywhere.”
Smoke from other grass fires reduced visibility along Interstate 35, forcing officials to close a stretch of the highway in southern Oklahoma near the Texas line. It reopened Tuesday evening.
The wind in Oklahoma was clocked at 25 to 35 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph.
In Texas, Fort Worth Fire Department Lt. Kent Worley said crews had fought nine brush fires during the first half of the day and he expected more. His department also helped battle a blaze in nearby Kennedale, where two apartment complexes were evacuated.
“It looked like the world was on fire,” said Arlington Battalion Chief David Stapp, whose department joined others in fighting the wind-blown blaze. “There were flames 30 to 40 feet high, just a wall of flames.”
In Hood County, a fire near Canyon Creek forced at least 100 people to evacuate, said Chief Deputy Jerry Lind. He said several structures were on fire, and propane tanks had exploded.