Official: Size of Texas wildfire may have doubled

TERRY WALLACE and APRIL CASTRO / The Associated Press
Posted: 04/19/2011 08:04:16 AM MDT

DALLAS - A Texas official says a wildfire burning less than 100 miles from the Dallas-Fort Worth area could be twice as big as previous estimates. Texas Forest Service spokesman Marq Webb says the fire burning Tuesday near Possum Kingdom Lake may have grown to about 120,000 acres. It was previously estimated at 63,000 acres.

The Possum Kingdom fire would be the fifth of at least 100,000 acres around Texas. The state is managing about 1,500 firefighters battling blazes that have consumed more than 1,000 square miles of parched Texas ranchland.

The agency says at least 32 homes have been destroyed in the recreational area about 70 miles west of Fort Worth.

Firefighting conditions are likely to be difficult Tuesday, with high temperatures in the 90s and strong winds.

http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_17878425