Texas firefighters make progress in curbing wildfires
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Wildfires are still blazing across the northwest Texas on Wednesday, but firefighters have hopes for calming winds and increased humidity in the next few days.
Weather conditions on Wednesday allowed firefighters to make "great progress" in building containment lines because the wind was down and humidity was up, said Marq Webb, a spokesman for Texas Forest Service.
The fire started Saturday in Hardin County, Texas and grew to 3,000 acres by Sunday afternoon. It also spread into two other counties.
As over one and half million acres of land as well as 170 homes have been burned, state officials said firefighters from 34 states are now in Texas battling blazes.
Firefighter officials said that they had made some progress battling the four worst brush fires, including one that has scorched 147,000 acres and burned down over 100 homes around Possum Kingdom Lake in northeastern Texas.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Departments spokesman Rob McCorkle said that the weather could help contain the fire.
"They (firefighters) are just in a better position to deal with the fires than they have been in the last few days," he said, adding that a 20 percent to 30 percent chance of rain was forecast for Thursday in the North Texas area.
Wildfires are increasingly common across Texas due to the weather condition this year. According to Governor Rick Perry, the state has seen nearly 8,000 fires since December, with more than 250 homes destroyed or damaged since earlier this year.
A study released last week shows that last month was the driest March in Texas' history since 1895.
