Texas: Firefighters hope to control fire as winds fall

EASTLAND, Texas, USA (AP) — Firefighters in Texas hope to make progress on Saturday against a huge set of fires that have killed one person and burned at least 50 homes, officials said.

The winds are expected to calm down on Saturday, raising hope that the flames will be controlled, said Angel Lopez, a spokesman for the fire-fighting task force near Eastland, some 200 kilometers (120 miles) west of Dallas.

However, gusts of wind are forecast to return on Saturday, again increasing the risk of the fire reaching critical levels in west and central Texas, he added.

At least 50 homes have been destroyed by flames and more are likely to be found, Governor Greg Abbott reported at a press conference Friday. It declared a disaster in the 11 counties most affected by the fires. Texas A&M Forest Services warned that fires could also affect parts of Oklahoma and Kansas, and Nebraska warned that there is an extreme fire risk.

The Eastland County Police Department released more details of the death of Sergeant Barbara Fenley. The department said in a statement that Thursday it visited house to house to house to persuade residents to vacate their homes and the “last word was that I would go to see an elderly person.”

“As extreme conditions worsened and there was little visibility due to smoke, Sergeant Fenley went off the road and was engulfed by flames,” the statement said.

By Friday afternoon, the fires had consumed about 330 square kilometers (130 square miles), approximately 185 square kilometers (70 square miles) in the Eastland complex alone, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. The fires in that complex had only been contained at 4% by Friday afternoon, with flames raging through the thick undergrowth and grass fields.

Approximately 18,000 people live in Eastland County. Some 475 homes were evicted in the village of Gorman, said Matthew Ford, a spokesman for the agency.