Texas Winds Make for Fiery Weekend

WHEELER, Texas (AP) _ Firefighters from the Texas-Oklahoma border to the Gulf Coast battled wind-whipped wildfires on Sunday.

The largest of those fires, an 15,000-acre blaze near the Panhandle town of Wheeler, destroyed eight homes and 26 outbuildings, including barns and garages. An unknown number of cattle were killed, according to the Texas Forest Service.

Forest Service spokeswoman Jeanne Eastham said the fire was about 25 percent contained. Strong winds continued to hamper firefighting efforts there and elsewhere.

Four houses, two businesses and six outbuildings were destroyed in a fire in Aransas County on the Gulf Coast late Sunday afternoon. The fire, which covered about 70 acres, threatened at least 100 homes.

A 200-acre fire broke out in Wichita County. Small fires also broke out in Bastrop, Taylor, Cooke, Titus and Bowie counties.

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