Wildfires Threaten N. Texas Homes

High winds fueled wildfires across North Texas Thursday.

The Texas Forest Service began battling several uncontrolled grass and brush fires in multiple counties around 3 p.m.

FOX 4 chief meteorologist Dan Henry said the combination of dry air and very strong afternoon winds was to blame for the fires. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map also shows more than 93 percent of Texas is in some stage of drought.

The state agency activated a mutual aid system to coordinate their efforts with rural and volunteer departments.

They brought brush pumpers and water tankers into the affected areas, but could not use air tankers to control the dangerous fires until the winds began to die down at about 7 p.m.

Throughout Thursday afternoon, the fires forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents.

Emergency officials asked people in at least three subdivisions in the Parker County to leave, including neighborhoods north and northeast of Hudson Oaks and south of Lake Weatherford.

Officials said one barn and another structure had burned near the 50 homes that were being voluntarily evacuated. A 100-acre grass fire burned at the Lake Mineral Wells State Park.

In Montague County, the towns of Saint Jo and Bowie were evacuated. At least one school in Bowie was evacuated and at least one home in the town of Sunset reportedly burned, officials said.

Residents in the town of Montague were asked to evacuate just before 6 p.m. and inmates in the county jail were sent to a neighboring facility.

The Wise County Sherriff’s Office said residents in an area west of Boonsville were asked to evacuate.

Wind gusts delayed flights at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Air traffic control put a ground delay program in place, around 3:15 p.m., that reduced the flight arrival rate to less than half its normal rate because of the gusty weather.

A spokeswoman for Oncor Electric Delivery said about 1,400 homes and businesses lost power in Arlington due to high winds.

No injuries have been reported in any of the blazes. The American Red Cross responded to help evacuees.

Smoke clouds were visible on the True View Titan radar screen and a smoky haze blanketed the Metroplex.

Health officials warned that children, elderly residents and residents with heart or respiratory problems should stay indoors and avoid the smoke.