LUBBOCK, Texas, March 16 (UPI) -- Wind-driven grass fires in the Texas Panhandle were moving north and northeast Thursday, prompting officials to warn Oklahoma to be prepared.
Warren Bielenberg, a Texas Forest Service spokesman said winds gusting to 50 mph caused two giant flare ups Wednesday, and that at least 850,000 acres had been burned.
Two air tankers were called out of Ardmore, Okla., to drop retardant on the fire near Miami, Texas, and Army National Guard bulldozers were helping put in fire-protection lines, the Morris News Service reported.
State trooper Daniel Hawthorne said Wednesday that with fires destroying miles of fence across the area, there will be livestock roaming the roadways in the affected areas.
The fires have killed 11 people so far, and have scorched an area the size of Rhode Island.
Tuesday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry made a request to all local jurisdictions across Texas to provide equipment and personnel to assist in battling the fires across the Panhandle.
