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'Red Flag' Wind, Heat Warnings Have Firefighters on Alert NewsMax.com Wires SHAMROCK, Okla. -- After containing a grass fire that destroyed an abandoned schoolhouse and a home in this northwestern Oklahoma town, firefighters remained on alert Wednesday as unseasonably warm, windy weather continued and threatened to fuel more blazes. Meanwhile, officials in New Mexico contained a grass fire there Tuesday night, and firefighters in Texas worked to keep blazes under control amid dry conditions. Fires were largely contained in Oklahoma, but more were expected, with highs in the low 60s and winds of up to 20 mph in some areas. No rain was in the forecast. "It's one thing to be dry. It's another thing to be dry and have above-average temperatures like we've had the last two weeks," National Weather Service forecaster Bruce Thoren said. Firefighters responded to seven fires in Oklahoma on Tuesday. The only fire still burning Wednesday morning was near Davis in Murray County, said Michelle Finch, a fire information officer with the Oklahoma Forestry Division. Story Continues Below
On Tuesday, an air tanker repeatedly dropped fire retardant on the Oklahoma blaze, said Loren Andrews, assistant fire chief in nearby Drumright. The fire was likely set by arsonists because it began near a highway and other fires in the area appeared to have been set by people near roadways, he said. Shamrock Mayor Melissa Lee, sitting on a four-wheeler in front of the smoldering ruins of the vacant destroyed home, said the school that burned dated back to at least the 1920s and many in the town of about 250 had graduated from there. "It's a little town, but it's got a lot of history," she said. Grass fires started by as little as a spark from a car or downed power lines have burned more than 600,000 acres across a drought-stricken stretch of Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico in the past week-and-a-half. The fires have destroyed at least 470 homes and killed five people. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced it had approved requests from Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico for assistance from the nation's Disaster Relief Fund to aid in firefighting efforts. In Texas, firefighters continued checking major blazes that appeared mostly contained as the threat of flare-ups and new fires lingered in windy, dry conditions. They contained 60 percent of a fire west of San Angelo on Tuesday that had scorched about 40,000 acres in Irion and Reagan counties. A 6,000-acre blaze in Erath County that had become active and was threatening about seven homes earlier in the day also calmed by Tuesday night, the Texas Forest Service said. Since Nov. 1 in Oklahoma, grass fires have consumed about 353,000 acres, destroyed more than 220 homes and businesses and been blamed for the death of two people. In New Mexico, firefighters contained what remained of fires that blackened more than 53,000 acres in the southeastern section of the state, destroying 10 homes and three barns west of Hobbs. A National Weather Service "red flag warning" was in still effect Wednesday in North Texas but was dropped for other regions because of lower temperatures and lighter winds. Winds could gust up to 25 mph in North Texas, meteorologist Jesse Moore said.
© 2006 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Editor's note:
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