Firefighters gained ground today in their days-long battle against a large and deadly wildfire southeast of Austin, Texas, officials said.
The 34,000-acre Bastrop County Complex fire, which has forced the evacuation of about 5,000 people in the rural community, was about 30 per cent contained, and that number was expected to grow throughout the afternoon, said Mike Fisher, the county's emergency management coordinator.
"We're feeling like we're gaining enough control that we're not going to lose a lot more acreage today," Mr Fisher said. "Perhaps today, we'll have the perimeter secure and the fire will not get larger."
The Bastrop fire, one of nearly 200 fires that have broken out across Texas in the past week, has killed two people and claimed 785 homes, the most houses ever destroyed by a single fire in Texas history, the Texas Forest Service reported this morning.
Firefighters who have fought the blaze since Sunday were helped overnight by decreased winds and cooler temperatures, conditions expected to continue today, officials said.
The US Forest Service has sent a team to the area to help co-ordinate the efforts, which include nearly 400 firefighters.
So far, four people have died in wildfires in the state since Labor Day weekend, including a mother and infant daughter who were killed in northeast Texas on Sunday.
The Bastrop fire, the largest current blaze, stretches 39km and is 32km wide at its broadest point.
More than 3.6 million acres in Texas have been scorched by wildfires since November, fed by a drought that has caused more than $5 billion (€3.5 billion) in damage to the state's agricultural industry and that shows no sign of easing.
Reuters