Texas wildfires fueled by gusty winds prompt evacuations

EASTLAND, Texas — Low humidity and gusty winds fueled multiple wildfires Friday in Texas, burning homes and other structures and prompting evacuations of small communities.

Several wildfires merged to form what fire officials call a “complex” that was burning near Eastland, about 120 miles (195 kilometers) west of Dallas.

As of Friday morning, the fires had burned about 62.5 square miles (162 square kilometers), according to Texas A&M Forest Service. It was only 2% contained and fires were burning in thick brush and grass fields.

About 18,000 people live in Eastland County, where the large fire was burning.

Other smaller fires were burning throughout other areas of Texas, and Thursday's low humidity and high winds created an ideal scenario for the blazes to quickly grow out of control. Texas A&M Forest Service had warned of a wildfire outbreak this week because of the forecast.

There were no reports of injuries.

A nursing home in Rising Star was evacuated and residents were taken to a community center, Eastland County Today reported.

In the small town of Ranger — about 10 miles (16 kilometers) northeast of Eastland — a church and several downtown buildings burned Thursday, Dallas TV station WFAA reported. The fire, which was fueled by high winds, may have started from a barbecue pit, Ranger Fire Department Chief Darrell Fox said.

"We had everything ready throughout the county,” Fox said. “But when we have the winds like there was ... and the humidity down to nothing, this is what you're going to get.”