AUstin, Texas – Forest fires fed by dry conditions and gust winds burned in a few southern states on Thursday, forcing evacuations in Texas and encouraging Florida officials to close part of a major highway with spring vacation at high speed.
A forest fire in the national forest of Sam Houston near Houston caused the evacuation of around 900 houses and closed schools. The National Weather Service has issued high fire warnings in the fourth city in the country.
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The fire, which started on Wednesday, burned around 3.1 square miles (8 square kilometers) and was only contained in 10% Thursday morning, Texas A&M Forest Service said.
There has been no immediate report of injury or material damage, but the independent school district of Cleveland, which has around 12,000 students, canceled prices as a precaution.
The firefighters and the police “did such an incredible job yesterday in the protection of houses, animals, livestock and people. We have not lost anything, which is difficult to believe, “said Montgomery county judge, the county judge of Montgomery, Mark Keough.
However, he said, the gusts of wind expected Thursday with a drop in humidity could make the situation disastrous.
“We ask the people who evacuated last night to stay far from their home,” said Keough.
Florida fire
In the Florida Keys, a large brush fire that started on Tuesday made the authorities close one of the two roads leading inside and outside the island chain, and stopped intermittently so that the fire teams can move equipment.
Learn more:: Fire, smoke closed the road to Florida Keys
Spring holidays are full in Florida, and US 1 is the main artery that connects the continent to the islands. It is also a highly frequented route for people who live on the continent and work in many hotels and restaurants in Key Largo and beyond.
Arkansas Blazes
In Arkansas, the crews responded to more than 50 fires on Wednesday which were powered by strong winds.
The fires closed several highways, including part of the Interstate 530 southeast of Little Rock due to heavy smoke.
The flames damaged the structures in several cities, including Little Rock. The roof collapsed in St. Joseph’s, a 115 -year -old building in the north of Little Rock which has formerly served as an orphanage and is now the house of a non -profit organization which provides urban agricultural resources.
What causes fires?
The South has experienced recent cold and dry conditions, followed by Rafales winds, which landed the flames.
Texas has seen the risk of fire ranging from the extreme north of begging, where ground vegetation froze and emerges, and pushes hundreds of kilometers to the east to the coast.
The southern Florida has seen all the small precipitation in recent weeks. The rainy season only begins in mid-May. Another cold front with dry air is expected to cross southern Florida on Thursday evening, said meteorologist Donal Harrigan with National Weather Service in Miami.
Red flag warnings
The meteorological service has issued red flag warnings for fire conditions in eastern Texas and southern Florida and could extend them for several days.
Warnings of the red flag are issued by the National Weather Service when the conditions are ripe for fires. In south-eastern Texas, those responsible for weather services predicted gusts of 25 miles per hour (40 kilometers per hour), combined with humidity as low as 18%. This combination will continue to dry the vegetation.
