  
| 
| ||||||||||||||
Wildfires continue to rage in Texas, Oklahoma
(CNN) -- Another swath of grasslands caught fire Thursday on the edge of Oklahoma City, as firefighters from two states tried desperately to douse a dozen major blazes fueled by dry, windy conditions. So far, five deaths have been blamed on the wildfires -- one in Oklahoma and four in Texas. The situation in Texas seemed to be improving, but the Oklahoma firefighters were still struggling with more than four major fires, said Michelann Ooten, a spokeswoman for Oklahoma's Department of Emergency Management. (Watch fires scorch parts of Texas -- 1:21) "The firefighters would make headway in a particular area, and then an ember would move to another field and we'd have another wildfire," Ooten said. "We've been chasing these since Tuesday, and in some cases, in some areas of the state, they've been dealing with this off and on for the last three or four weeks." The Oklahoma National Guard mobilized its Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters to dump water on the fires during the day, but they aren't able to work at night, she said. Cooler temperatures and increased humidity have provided firefighters some relief, but it's not enough, Ooten said. "What we really need is some rain," she said. Oklahoma City has seen only a quarter-inch of rain since the end of October, and the drought -- combined with winds of about 30 mph -- has helped fuel fires in four counties in east Oklahoma. The latest of the fires started Wednesday, on the eastern fringe of Oklahoma City, while other fires burned prairie land near Wewoka, around Marietta and in Achille. (Watch fires threaten Oklahoma City -- :40) The blazes have prompted a statewide ban on fires and fireworks, and some public fireworks shows for New Year's Eve have been curtailed, Ooten said. "We just need to be very careful in our outdoor activities," Ooten said. "The slightest cigarette butt can create such a small spark, but such a large fire and a major tragedy for someone." Eighty homes and businesses in Oklahoma and 226 in Texas have been destroyed, and the fires have consumed roughly 35,000 acres across the two states as of Thursday afternoon, the Office of Emergency Management in Oklahoma reported. The dry conditions that have helped prod the fires along could last for another week, the agency said Texas Gov. Rick Perry toured some of the ravaged areas of his state Thursday, including Cross Plains, where two people have died in the fires. The governor said the state was working "as quickly as we can" to provide relief to the town's roughly 1,000 residents, and he urged people to send donations to a relief fund being set up at a local bank. "There are people there that don't have a thing -- small children who need some help right now," he said. Also in Cross Plains, located about 160 miles west of Dallas, the fires claimed the town's First United Methodist Church, where the congregation was set to celebrate its 120th anniversary. But that will not deter the Rev. Jim Senkel from delivering his Sunday sermon this weekend -- from the parking lot of the burned-out building. "The following Sundays, we will be looking at other places," said Senkel, who also lost his home. "But we're going to be right here, right where I'm standing this Sunday." 
|
| ||||||||||||||
| © 2007 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
 |
|
External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pay service with live and archived video. 
