Prairie Fire Diverted From 3 Texas Towns

A major brush fire that swept over tens of thousands of acres of West Texas prairie appeared to be under control late Saturday, officials said.

Late Friday and earlier Saturday, the towns of Albany and Moran in Shackelford County and Baird in northern Callahan County were threatened, but fire-retardant chemicals dropped from three tanker aircraft helped firefighters gain the upper hand.

A Texas Forest Service spokesman said that mop-up operations were beginning, but officials said that the dry, windy weather conditions could rekindle the flames.

Livestock Killed

The fire killed livestock, destroyed mobile homes and oilfield equipment and closed roads across parts of an area 60 miles long and 25 miles wide, officials said.

Federal authorities, at the request of Texas officials, approved aid to help reimburse the state for expenses in fighting the blaze, which apparently started from a trash fire Thursday.

Numerous firefighters among the hundreds battling the blaze suffered from smoke inhalation and minor burns, officials said.

An area of about 900 square miles in Shackelford, Callahan and Throckmorton counties was scorched, said Laureen Chernow of the governor’s Emergency Management Division.

Half of the County

The fire swept over about 265,000 acres in Shackelford County alone, or roughly half of the county, Joe Fox of the Forest Service said.

Volunteer firefighter Phillip Rodriguez said he and hundreds of other workers stopped the flames Saturday morning just inside the city limits of Baird, a town of about 1,700 people. Some homes there were evacuated Friday night, but no dwellings were lost and residents returned Saturday.

In Albany, 25 miles north, the fire consumed trailers and oilfield equipment as its march eastward was fanned by strong winds.