Texas Evacuees Return to Assess Wildfire Damage

By Jeff Brady

Published March 15, 2006 at 4:00 PM EST

A house is burned to the ground in the Texroy Camp neighborhood about six miles east of Borger, Texas.

An estimated 10,000 horses and cattle have died as a result of the fires in the Texas panhandle.

The grassfires in Texas are still burning, but they didn't claim human lives or significant additional territory Wednesday. The fires have burned more than 800,000 acres since Sunday, leaving behind blackened fields, thousands of burned and starving cattle, and clouds of dust.

Fire officials spent the day watching for new fires and worrying about the wind. It was high winds on Sunday that drove two fires that eventually blackened a large area of the Texas Panhandle.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry plans to tour the area Thursday. He has deployed more state resources, such as National Guard helicopters, to help fight the fires.

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Jeff Brady

Jeff Brady is a National Desk Correspondent based in Philadelphia, where he covers energy issues, climate change and the mid-Atlantic region. Brady helped establish NPR's environment and energy collaborative which brings together NPR and Member station reporters from across the country to cover the big stories involving the natural world.

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Texas Evacuees Return to Assess Wildfire Damage

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