By Keith Coffman

Photo from topics.myfoxboston.com

Wildfires were reported in Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Kansas. In some cases, firefighters were struggling to bring them under control amid high and shifting windsWest of Fort Collins, Colorado a fire blackened 4,500 acres, destroyed 15 homes, and residents of another 336 homes remained under evacuation orders, authorities said.

The blaze, burning in mountain terrain about 65 miles northwest of Denver, is five-percent contained, Reghan Cloudman, a fire information officer with the U.S. Forest Service, told Reuters

Wind gusts in excess of 90 miles per hour fanned the flames, which grew from 20 acres Saturday to more than 4,500 acres overnight, forcing the early-morning evacuations

Most of Colorado was under threat from wildfires this weekend because of a lack of precipitation, high winds and record warm temperatures

A snow storm moved into the area on Sunday, aiding the 250 firefighters battling the blaze

“It (snowfall) has calmed the fire down a bit, but there are still many hot spots,” Cloudman said

Two air tankers and a helicopter have been called in to make fire retardant and water drops, she said

High winds and extreme drought across Texas fed fires that scorched more than 7,000 acres on Sunday

Fire officials evacuated 300 homes, a power plant and a sewage and water treatment facility as a 1,500-acre grass fire crossed a highway and burned outside of Odessa, 360 miles west of Austin

The Texas Forest Service was using a helicopter and bulldozers to support seven other agencies battling the blaze, spokeswoman Jeanne Eastham said

Crews had stopped the fire outside a water treatment plant just southeast of the city, she said”.

“It has not crossed that road, and they’re holding it there, at this point,” Eastham said

More than three quarters of the Texas was under severe or extreme levels of drought on Sunday. Wind gusts of up to 43 miles per hour fanned the flames outside Odessa in the afternoon, but conditions improved in the evening, National Weather Service Meteorologist Douglas Cain said