Wildfire Leaves Hundreds Homeless in Texas Panhandle

A wildfire has forced several hundred people from their homes in the Texas panhandle, authorities said late Sunday.

Up to 100 homes have been gutted and some 1,200 are threatened, with gusts of up to 50 m.p.h. hampering containment efforts, Hutchinson County Emergency Management Coordinator Danny Richards told CNN.

Fritch Police Chief Monte Leggett said hundreds of acres had been affected, putting the entire town at risk.

“The wind may shift later, so be prepared to evacuate if something goes wrong,” said Department of Public Safety State Trooper Chris Ray. Local churches and the Fritch High School gymnasium were being readied as makeshift evacuation centers, he added.

The cause of the blaze hasn’t yet been established.

[CNN]