75 Homes Destroyed in Texas Panhandle Wildfire

Emergency officials say about 75 homes are destroyed and hundreds of people have evacuated the area after a wildfire burned up to 2 square miles in the Texas Panhandle.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said in an email that no one has been hurt in the fire near Fritch, some 30 miles northeast of Amarillo.

Fritch Police Chief Monte Leggett said 75 percent of the fire had been contained by the morning of Monday, May 12.

Hutchinson County emergency management coordinator Danny Richards said about 75 homes are destroyed and hundreds of the town’s 2,100 residents have left the area. Some stayed at a school gymnasium.

The National Weather Service says winds were gusting up to 30 mph in the area early Monday with temperatures in the 40s.