Texas wildfires fueled by gusty winds prompt evacuations
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By GRANT SCHULTE
Associated Press
Fire crews in Central Texas are struggling to contain massive, windswept wildfires that have burned homes, destroyed a church and left a local sheriff’s deputy dead. Several wildfires have merged to form what fire officials call a “complex” that’s burning near Eastland, about 120 miles west of Dallas. Officials say an Eastland County sheriff’s deputy died while trying to save people. About 475 homes have been evacuated in the town of Gorman and a nursing home in Rising Star was evacuated. The Texas A&M Forest Service warned that the fires could also affect parts of Oklahoma and Kansas. Nebraska warned of an extreme fire risk. The fires caused hazy conditions hundreds of miles away.