AMARILLO, Texas, April 1 (UPI) -- Destructive grass fires spawned by an unknown spark and fanned by high winds destroyed 14 homes and consumed at least 700 acres across northeast Texas.
But there were no injuries.
Texas Forest Service officials requested heavy air tankers from New Mexico to help drop retardant on the fires and even flew circles around the affected area, but later were called off, Amarillo City Manager Alan Taylor said.
Officials also kept a close eye on whether the flames would threaten the prisons, the Highland Park campus, the Amarillo College East Campus and even the city's well field in Carson County.
Staff and volunteers with the Texas Panhandle Chapter of the American Red Cross were at the scene Thursday, helping residents cope with their loss.
