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Monday, April 11, 2011

Still no containment on large wildfires in Texas, officials say

A fire over 16,500 acres in Midland County, Texas, has burned more than 30 homes. STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: Presidio County's wildfire is now the largest, having grown to 80,000 acresThirty to 40 homes have been destroyed in Presidio CountyGov. Rick Perry has renewed a disaster proclamation for all of Texas' 249 counties Red flag warnings remain in effect for southern counties in TexasRELATED TOPICSTexasWildfiresTexas Forest ServiceRick PerryOklahoma (CNN) -- The battle to contain large Texas wildfires responsible for destroying close to 100 homes and other structures continued Monday.

The largest blaze, which has destroyed 30 to 40 homes in Fort Davis in Presidio County, has grown to 80,000 acres with 10% containment, the Texas Forest Service said.

The agency has deployed three air tankers, 60 firefighters, bulldozers and other equipment and personnel in addition to a host of other state and local resources to focus on this blaze.

KWES-TV: Parts of West Texas ravaged by fires

Another 34 homes have burned in Midland County due to a fire over 16,500 acres that the state agency on Sunday described as "very active" and not at all contained, officials said.

A Red Cross shelter has been set up at Midland College for those displaced or otherwise affected by this wildfire.

"(Firefighters) can't outrun it," said Alan Craft, a spokesman for the state's Lone Star Incident Management Team.

Another large fire is burning in three Texas counties and has scorched more than 71,000 acres, according to the state Forest Service.

As of Sunday night, the blaze across parts of Stonewall, Knox and King counties was totally uncontained despite the use of air resources, bulldozers, fire engines and other tools and personnel, a statement from the Forest Service said.

There have been no evacuations yet related to another 60,000-acre blaze, this one in Potter and Moore counties near the city of Masterson. That fire is 50% contained but is still considered a threat to the towns of Dumas and Sunray, the Forest Service said.

Gov. Rick Perry renewed a disaster proclamation in effect for all of Texas' 249 counties -- even though major fires are occurring in only 13 of them -- to expedite assistance in case of new fires, his office said Sunday.

In addition to more than 750 personnel working with the Texas Forest Service, the governor's statement noted that two Blackhawk helicopters from the Texas Military Forces, bulldozers from the state transportation department and resources from 60 fire departments statewide were part of the effort.

Improved wind conditions over the past couple of days have helped firefighters in their battle, but dry conditions remain and still pose a problem, CNN meteorologist Monica O'Connor said Monday.

Six new wildfires reported on Sunday were quickly brought under control, the Texas Forest Service said.

Authorities in the Lone Star State have responded to 6,831 fires over 643,000 acres since wildfire season began.

Texas is not alone, as wildfires are burning in large swaths of the Southwest and Midwest, fanned in part by dry, warm and windy conditions.

In the past few days, the National Weather Service has issued "red flag warnings" for New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin on Sunday extended a state of emergency for seven counties. The designation authorizes state agencies to make emergency purchases needed to quickly deliver resources to local jurisdictions, the state's emergency operations center said.

Parts of Oklahoma remain under a "fire weather watch," which means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur.

Many southern counties in Texas are under a "red flag warning," meaning conditions have created the potential for explosive fire growth.

The National Weather Service's website urges residents to exercise extreme care with respect to all outdoor activities that could inadvertently cause wildfires.

CNN's Stephanie Gallman, Mariano Castillo and Kara Devlin contributed to this report.



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