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Wildfires Destroy Texas, Okla. Homes

Posted on: Thursday, 29 December 2005, 09:00 CST

By ANGELA K. BROWN

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 five 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.

While the wind and high temperatures eased after the outbreak of fires Tuesday, the National Weather Service predicted a return of the hazardous conditions on Saturday - prompting fears that New Year's fireworks could spark another round of fires.

"It's not going to be a good day to throw up fireworks," meteorologist Alan Moller said. "This could lead to some really nasty fires."

Cross Plains, a working-class town about 115 miles west of Fort Worth, was the hardest-hit community, losing about 50 homes and a church Tuesday. Two of the state's four deaths were reported there.

One was Mattie Faye Wilson, 67, who taught several generations of Cross Plains first-graders before her retirement, said Debbie Gosnell, a city administrator. "She was a really sweet woman," Gosnell said.

Another victim was Maudie Sheppard, a bedridden 89-year-old living with her son. He rushed home to try and save her, but it was too late, neighbors said.

Remnants of several of the burned-out houses still smoldered Wednesday evening, blanketing the air with a smoky haze and burning odor. Texas Gov. Rick Perry planned to survey the Cross Plains damage by air Thursday.

Another woman died in Cooke County, near the Texas-Oklahoma line, after she apparently fell while helping her husband pour water on the grass around their house. Texas authorities confirmed a fourth death but did not immediately release details.

The fifth death was reported in Oklahoma. Kelly Tiger, 69, collapsed and died while trying battling flames on his family's property in Hughes County. Burns covered 70 percent of his body but doctors determined that he died of a heart attack.

"I believe my father was trying to get back to us," his son, Kelly Tiger Jr., 47, said. "He saw the winds shift and the fire coming at our house. That's when he started running toward us."

The grass fires destroyed more than 100 buildings across Texas, including 78 homes, the state emergency management agency said. About 50 homes were destroyed in Oklahoma, authorities said.

This year has been the fifth driest year on record for north and central Texas, where most of the fires happened. The annual rainfall in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is about 16 inches less than the average of about 35 inches. Oklahoma has received about 24 inches of rain this year, about 12 inches less than normal.

Some residents of Mustang, just west of Oklahoma City, returned to their homes Wednesday to pick through what remained. Five homes were destroyed as the fire raced across 400 acres.

Pat Hankins watched as friends and family members pulled partially destroyed items from his home and put them on the lawn. Inside, heaps of blackened insulation lay on top of a bed in a back bedroom lit by sunlight that poured through holes in the ceiling.

"We were planning on dying here," said Hankins, 62, of the home he has shared with his wife for 13 years. "We loved this piece of property. Whether we'll rebuild, I just don't know."

Eight homes were lost in a fast-moving grass fire in Choctaw, east of Oklahoma City. Among those destroyed was the home of Kenneth Franks, who had lived there since 1976.

The fire ripped through with such intensity that the aluminum cylinder heads of his wife's car melted into a pool that later hardened in front of the car. The dashboard dissolved around what was left of the steering wheel.

"When me and my wife got married 23 years ago, we had this house and a couple of cars," Franks said. "We have less now than we did then."

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Associated Press writers Sheila Flynn in Cross Plains, Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City, and Tim Talley in Mustang, Okla., contributed to this report.

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National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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