Dry winds hamper efforts to battle Texas fires

By the CNN Wire Staff STORY HIGHLIGHTSMore than a million acres burn in TexasOn Wednesday, emergency personnel respond to four new firesThe new blazes are across more than 1,000 acres West Texas is in the middle of an extended droughtAre you there? Share your photos and video.

Dallas (CNN) -- Fire-friendly conditions are expected to return Thursday in various parts of Texas, where thousands of firefighters have been battling blazes that have scorched more than a million acres.

And Mother Nature's not cooperating -- warm, dry winds are blowing across the already bone-dry landscape.

"Even if we get 2 inches of rain, the ground's going to eat it up," said David Hennig, a meteorologist in Midland, Texas. "We need a pattern shift."

High-res photos: Wildfires blaze across Texas

West Texas averages nearly 15 inches of rain a year, according to Hennig.

In the past six months, only 13-hundredths of an inch of rain have been recorded in that part of the state.

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Ecuador's efforts to ban bullfighting has some fans seeing red

Ecuador's populist president is facing a potential backlash with his May 7 referendum that would ban bullfighting.

The proposed law would make it illegal to kill animals for entertainment.

In February, a bullfight and cockfight in Quito called "Bulls and Cocks for Freedom" drew some 15,000 people.

President Rafael Correa has already tried to deflect public opinion over the issue by dropping cockfighting from the ban, arguing that the event does not necessarily imply that the birds should die, The Mimi Herald reports.

The Herald says, however, that the leftist president appears to be trying to bolster support with the lower classes, who are drawn to cockfighting, while targeting bullfighting,which is popular among the wealthy.

Ecuador's Union of Bullfighters says a ban would affect the livelihood of some 97,000 families connected with the industry.

The government has tried to counter the opposition by saying there would not ban on having bullfights if the animal is not killed.

But union president Milton Calahorrano, The Herald reporst, quickly dismisses that notion: "That's like a soccer match without any goals."

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