Wildfires fueled by low humidity and gusty winds in central Texas have claimed one life and destroyed dozens of homes, including a small town called Carbon.
Nearly 500 homes have been evacuated and at least 50 have burned since fires broke out earlier this week in and around Eastland County, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Fort Worth.
At least 45,000 acres in central Texas were engulfed in flames. The gusts of wind and low humidity caused a series of forest fires that could not be controlled by the fire departments.
Last night, the authorities had barely put out 15% of the total fire, so the work will continue throughout the weekend to put out the flames.
There are at least four wildfires still burning, which have been named the Kidd Fire, the Wheat Field Fire, the Walling Fire and the Oak Mott Fire, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
Sergeant Barbara Fenley of the county sheriff’s office was killed while helping to evacuate residents.
The climate crisis is causing an increase in larger and more erratic wildfires occurring much earlier than last year.
Ángel López Portillo, a spokesman on the fires for the Texas A&M Forest Service, says that in addition to firefighters on the ground, there are other teams deployed that include three single-engine tankers, two National Guard Blackhawk helicopters, another large Type 1 and three large fixed-wing tankers.
