HOUSTON, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- A federal disaster was declared for one Texas county being ravaged by wildfires that destroyed at least 1,400 homes in the past week, state officials said.
The Austin American-Statesman reported Saturday the worst blaze, in Bastrop County, was 50 percent contained. The progress in battling the wildfire allowed officials to reopen Texas 71, the highway between Bastrop and Smithville that had been closed for a week.
However, Bastrop Mayor Terry Orr said, "I think it would be some time before it's 100 percent safe for the whole area."
The presidential declaration opens the door for federal disaster relief for those affected in Bastrop County, although the Texas Forest Service said 95 major fires were also burning in at least five other counties, CNN reported.
Before the declaration was made Friday, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst told frustrated residents he had made two requests to the White House for help, the Houston Chronicle said.
Dewhurst is acting as governor while Gov. Rick Perry campaigns for a Republican presidential nomination.
The state forest service brought in a DC-10 jumbo jet tanker to fight the Bastrop fire Friday, the Chronicle said. It made repeated passes, dropping 12,000 gallons of fire retardant each time. Early Saturday, officials said the Bastrop fire, burning north of Houston and southeast of Austin, had blackened 34,000 acres.
Texas has undergone record high heat and had scant rain this year, ideal conditions for wildfires to ignite and spread quickly. State officials said more than 3.5 million acres of land has been scorched by some 18,887 wildfires since Jan. 1.
At least four people have been killed by the fires, CNN said.
