Post by Shadow on Dec 29, 2005 15:42:49 GMT -5
Breitbart
By ANGELA K. BROWN
Associated Press Writer
Dec 29 12:37 PM US/Eastern
CROSS PLAINS, Texas - Residents picked through the charred remains of their homes after devastating wildfires swept through nearly 20,000 acres in eastern Texas and Oklahoma, destroying more than 100 homes and killing four people. Linda and Kenneth Dixson recently turned down a would-be buyer's offer for their quaint renovated farmhouse here, deciding instead to stay put and fill it with new furniture.
But after wind-driven blazes ripped across the arid land, they were left with only a smoldering heap.
"We didn't take any clothes, and now it's all gone," Kenneth Dixson said Wednesday night while eating at First Baptist Church, where the Red Cross set up a shelter. "I didn't want to go back out there today. I just didn't want to see it again."
Severe drought, wind gusts of 40 mph and temperatures reaching the low 80s earlier this week set the stage for the fires in Texas and Oklahoma, which authorities believe were mostly set by people ignoring fire bans and burning trash, shooting fireworks or throwing out cigarettes. At least 73 blazes were reported in Texas over two days, and dozens more broke out in Oklahoma.
By ANGELA K. BROWN
Associated Press Writer
Dec 29 12:37 PM US/Eastern
CROSS PLAINS, Texas - Residents picked through the charred remains of their homes after devastating wildfires swept through nearly 20,000 acres in eastern Texas and Oklahoma, destroying more than 100 homes and killing four people. Linda and Kenneth Dixson recently turned down a would-be buyer's offer for their quaint renovated farmhouse here, deciding instead to stay put and fill it with new furniture.
But after wind-driven blazes ripped across the arid land, they were left with only a smoldering heap.
"We didn't take any clothes, and now it's all gone," Kenneth Dixson said Wednesday night while eating at First Baptist Church, where the Red Cross set up a shelter. "I didn't want to go back out there today. I just didn't want to see it again."
Severe drought, wind gusts of 40 mph and temperatures reaching the low 80s earlier this week set the stage for the fires in Texas and Oklahoma, which authorities believe were mostly set by people ignoring fire bans and burning trash, shooting fireworks or throwing out cigarettes. At least 73 blazes were reported in Texas over two days, and dozens more broke out in Oklahoma.