Storms and Fires Kill 5 in Texas and Arkansas

[jus_the_facts]

Source: NY Times

A severe spring weather system that began on Thursday night sparked violent wildfires from Oklahoma to Texas that scorched hundreds of homes and killed two people, and fueled a tornado that killed three and ravaged a small town in Arkansas.

Weather conditions calmed on Friday, enabling officials in Oklahoma to contain the fires and helping officials in Texas make progress in their continuing battle. In Eastern Arkansas, residents in the areas hardest hit were able to begin digging out of the rubble.

Wildfires still burned on Friday afternoon in different parts of northern Texas, having burned 32 homes over 100,000 acres. The flames forced the evacuation of five towns, according to Misty Wilburn of the Texas Forest Service.


The fires to the north in Oklahoma destroyed about 100 homes , but no deaths were reported, said Albert Ashwood, the director of the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management. He said that officials of the Oklahoma State Department of Health told him there were 49 injuries related to the fires. The hardest hit area was Midwest City, a suburb east of Oklahoma City, where approximately 100 structures, including homes, were destroyed.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/11/us/11storms.html?ref=global-home

[Bigmack]

1. Global climate change....more severe weather

just about EVERYWHERE! When will we wake up and smell the ubiquitous skunk cabbage growing all around us???? Ms Bigmack