E. Texas Fires At 15,000, 4,000 Acres In Grimes, Trinity Counties Respectively

[hatrack]

Update: The National Weather Service provided at update on the blazes at 3:30 a.m., saying the Grimes County fire had burned 4,000 acres and the Trinity County fire had burned 15,000 acres. Nearly 60 buildings had been damaged or destroyed in both, officials said, and the small communities of Griffin Ranch and Helmic were evacuated.

• • •

An army of firefighters battled a 15,000-acre wildfire Sunday in Trinity and Polk counties, one of the largest wildfires in East Texas history and just one of dozens burning across the state.

The blaze, called the "Bearing fire," has been burning since Friday afternoon in the Davy Crockett National Forest, about 100 miles north of Houston, said Rae Brooks, spokeswoman at the National Forest Service.

It's called the "Bearing fire" because it started after a person hauling a trailer pulled off the road with a hot wheel bearing, which ignited dry grass nearby, officials said. "It's one of the largest wildfires in East Texas, ever," Brooks said. No injuries were reported, but the fire destroyed several structures and forced evacuations in some communities. It was only about 40 percent contained Sunday.


EDIT

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7617283.html

[Warpy]

1. There are fires all over the southwest. This has been a vicious fire season

and with the Jet Stream still dipping so far south, there is no relief in sight.