By Elliott Blackburn LUBBOCK, Tex (Reuters)

 

 

LUBBOCK, Tex (Reuters) – Wildfires scorched more than 230,000 acres in Texas on Sunday, roaring through a West Texas town, destroying an estimated 80 homes and buildings and critically injuring a firefighter.

 

The Texas Forest Service reported more than 60,000 acres burned and 40 homes lost in one blaze that raced through West Texas and into the small mountain town of Fort Davis. The fire rushed across 20 miles in 90 minutes.

 

Officials at the scene, however, estimated at least 100,000 acres in two counties had burned from the fire, which continued to grow Sunday evening.

 

“I can only describe it as an ocean of black, with a few islands of yellow,” State Representative Pete Gallego said.

 

Flames “licked at the edges” of the town but did not burn their way through its center, sparing more buildings than expected, he said.

 

But 17 to 20 homes were destroyed, and as many as 30 more buildings were burned, he said after visiting the town, including a more than 100-year-old historic wooden ranch home. Residents had worked overnight to save their homes and moved on to help their neighbors, he said.

 

Hot spots still burned along the highway, and a glow from miles away was visible at night, he said.

 

“Even now, the flames in some places are 15 to 20 feet high,” Gallego said.

 

The town was without power Sunday evening. Gallego said many of the residents may not have been insured for fire.

 

Presidio County Emergency Management Coordinator Gary Mitschke said it was the first fire to scare him in 13 years of fighting grass fires. The blaze crossed railroad tracks and state highways as it roared past Fort Davis, he said.

 

Without a change in winds, which were keeping aircraft from helping firefighting efforts, the fire could burn for days or weeks, he said.

 

“Frankly, it moved almost as quick as a truck,” Mitschke said. “When you hear the word firestorm, this is what I imagine.”

 

A federal emergency management spokesman said a fire grant for the county had been approved Saturday and that the agency stood by to support as needed.

 

Wildfires fed by dry, windy conditions have charred more than 270,000 acres in eight days across Texas, burning homes, killing livestock and drawing in crews and equipment from 25 states.

 

Plants that thrived in wet weather turned to tinder under a cold, dry winter. Weeks of high winds and little moisture have made every spark dangerous.