4 Killed in Wind-Driven Texas Grass Fires

CROSS PLAINS, Texas - Firefighters searched for missing people and hoped for cooler, calmer weather Wednesday after deadly wildfires raced across thousands of acres of grassland dried out by Texas' worst drought in decades and destroyed dozens of homes.

The wind-driven fires were blamed for four deaths, the Texas Division of Emergency Management said Wednesday.

In addition to the deaths, at least three people were unaccounted-for Wednesday in Cross Plains, a town of about 1,000 people, fire officials said. Firefighters were searching burned-out houses.

More than 100 buildings, including 78 homes, were destroyed by Tuesday's fires, which burned across 13,000 acres, the state emergency management agency said. That included about 25 homes in Cross Plains, local fire officials said. Blazes also destroyed at least two dozen homes in Oklahoma.


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12/28/2005 4 Killed in Wind-Driven Texas Grass Fires - SHEILA FLYNN, Associated Press - yahoo.com