The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Montgomery Co. firefighters to aid in wildfires
HOUSTON
About 10 firefighters from Willis New Waverly, Needham and Porter fire departments left late Friday to head to North Texas, said Shane Howser with the North Montgomery County Fire Department. They expect to stay there for five to seven days.
Howser says the group leaving who left Friday includes a team leader and firefighters driving four booster trucks. The booster trucks are smaller firefighting vehicles than can go off road.
Wildfires are sweeping across hundreds of
thousands of acres in Texas and destroyed dozens of homes. One firefighter has died,
hundreds of people have evacuated.
Fire officials said late Friday that the blazes spanned about
655 square miles of parched grasslands, fueled by strong winds.
A 20,000-acre fire destroyed about 30 homes as it burned around
Possum Kingdom Lake, a popular recreation spot about 120 miles west
of Dallas.
Three large fires burning in Wichita County, about 150 miles
northwest of Dallas, had destroyed about 30 homes. A military
housing complex near Sheppard Air Force Base was evacuated for two
hours but no buildings were damaged.
Authorities say Eastland firefighter Gregory M. Simmons died
while battling a separate 3,000-acre blaze. No other injuries have
been reported but several towns have been evacuated.
