Wildfires subside in Texas, Okla., N.M.

updated 7:57 p.m. ET Jan. 4, 2006

DALLAS - A wildfire that scorched about 50,000 acres in western Texas was nearly contained Wednesday as firefighters across the state monitored flare-ups amid slightly lighter winds and cooler temperatures.

The blaze, which stretched across Irion and Reagan counties west of San Angelo, was the last major wildfire in Texas.

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.

Officials in New Mexico contained a grass fire there Tuesday night. 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.

A fire that was contained Tuesday in Shamrock, Okla., that destroyed an abandoned school house and one home was likely set by an arsonist, said Loren Andrews, the assistant fire chief in nearby Drumright.

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.

Arson suspected
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.

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.

Conditions in Texas
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.

Slide show   Prairie inferno Wind-driven wildfires rage in Oklahoma and Texas

In addition to the fire west of San Angelo, 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 deaths 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.

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