My sister's neighborhood is up in flames!!

I just got a call from her...she is being evacuated as a precaution since fires are popping up all around them! She said the fires are about four blocks from her home. Please say a prayer that their home will be okay.

Wildfires erupted across North Texas Tuesday afternoon as unseasonably high temperatures combined with low humidity and gusty winds to create conditions ripe for fast-moving fires.

Firefighters battled a major fire along the Arlington-Kennedale border in Tarrant County. Flames consumed several single-family homes near the Tierra Verde Golf Club and firefighters were setting up defenses around at least two apartment complexes and a number of residential neighborhoods.

A mobile home park near Mansfield Timberview High School was caught up in a grass fire; at least one home was destroyed and others were damaged.

Another dangerous fire was reported in the Canyon Creek subdivision in Hood County.

"It's just chaos right now," said Hood County Sheriff's Department Lt. Billy Henderson. "We have an entire subdivision on fire."

Henderson said the department was trying to evacuate all Canyon Creek residents. There were no reports of injuries.

Other wildfires were reported in Colleyville, Fort Worth, Farmers Branch, Ponder, Aubrey and Burleson.

"These fires that we've seen are human-caused," said Texas Forestry Service spokeswoman Traci Weaver. "Most of these fires are. Historically in North Texas, about 94 percent of our fires are human-caused."

Weaver said the weather conditions, with winds gusting to 40 mph, made it especially dangerous for firefighters. "It's amazing how fast it spreads in this wind," she said. "When it gets like it is right now, you just can't put a firefighter out in front of that—they'll get burned."

"This is tough; this is tough to watch," said American Red Cross spokeswoman Anita Foster, who said the agency was mobilizing relief trucks and personnel to the affected areas. "We're going to make sure that everyone has a roof over their head tonight."

The Red Cross set up these phone numbers for residents who need help: 817-335-9137 in Tarrant County and 214-678-4800 in Dallas County.

All of North Texas remained under a Red Flag fire warning Tuesday.

Outdoor burning bans were in effect for counties throughout the region. The National Weather Service warned that open flames, burning trash, a discarded cigarette—even the heat from a vehicle's exhaust system in tall grass—could spark a fire.

The mercury reached 81 degrees on Tuesday, setting a record for the second consecutive day.

"It just doesn't look like we have any relief in sight," said WFAA-TV (Channel 8) meteorologist Pete Delkus. "We are going to stay very dry. There is no rain in our forecast through the end of this year."

North Texas has had just shy of 19 inches of rain thus far in 2005—that's more than 15 inches less than an average year and more than 28 inches shy of last year's total.

Delkus 2005 is on pace to be the fifth driest year on record in North Texas, and the driest in about a half-century.

Wildfires burned Monday in Collin and Wise counties. One blaze destroyed three homes and damaged several buildings just north of Eagle Mountain Lake near the town of Newark in Wise County.

Collin County firefighters also stayed busy Monday battling six grass fires, including one in Princeton that left two people injured. A 16-year-old boy suffered minor burns and a 25-year-old woman was taken to a local hospital for smoke inhalation.

Princeton firefighter Jamie Arnold wasn't looking forward to another warm, dry and windy day on Tuesday. "I'm dreading it, to be honest with you," he said. "If we don't get some rain and get these conditions better, it's going to be a nightmare."

WFAA-TV reporters Jim Douglas and Gary Reaves in Arlington and Steve Stoler in Wise County and WFAA.com editor Walt Zwirko in Dallas contributed to this report.

Re: My sister's neighborhood is up in flames!!

Re: My sister's neighborhood is up in flames!!

Re: My sister's neighborhood is up in flames!!

Re: My sister's neighborhood is up in flames!!

Message edited 12/27/2005 7:39:49 PM.

Re: My sister's neighborhood is up in flames!!

Re: My sister's neighborhood is up in flames!!

Re: My sister's neighborhood is up in flames!!

I have been watching it on the news. I hope everyone is safe

Re: My sister's neighborhood is up in flames!!

Re: My sister's neighborhood is up in flames!!

I hope everyone is okay!

Message edited 12/27/2005 10:06:49 PM.

Re: My sister's neighborhood is up in flames!!

Re: My sister's neighborhood is up in flames!!

Re: My sister's neighborhood is up in flames!!

Re: My sister's neighborhood is up in flames!!

They were able to go back home but with a three week old baby and a neighborhood full of smoke, they are probably going to stay with a friend a few towns over. Not really a better solution since the whole area is bad

They are also predicting more fires to erupt

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10619217/

Re: My sister's neighborhood is up in flames!!

Thank goodness everything is ok, and hopefully everything will stay ok!

It's smart to not go home yet. The smoke would definitely not be good for a baby!

to you and your family!

Re: My sister's neighborhood is up in flames!!

Ohh this is so scary!!

I hope everything turns out ok!!