Hundreds forced to evacuate as forest fires spread through parts of central Texas

Hundreds of people were forced to evacuate parts of central Texas as crews worked to contain rapidly spreading forest fires.

Early Friday morning, the Eastland Complex fire, a fire that occurred Thursday after a number of smaller fires convergehad burned through more than 39,800 acres of land in Eastland County, the Texas A&M Forest Service said in an update.

Only two percent of the fire was stopped by 5:15 p.m., the service said.

“This is a major, evolving incident and it will continue to burn and things will change through the night and tomorrow,” Adam Turner, Service Regional Wildland Urban Interface Coordinator, told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth on Thursday.

A number of other active fires also continued to burn, including in Sterling, Reagan and Runnels counties. These fires were more than 75 percent extinguished on Friday morning.

Evacuations were ongoing late Thursday evening in a number of areas in Eastland County, Texas, according to the national Inciweb Wildfire database.

About 475 houses in the town of Gorman were evacuated, with residents instructed to go south. The city of Carbon and Lake Leon were also affected, it says.

Tents were set up in several places, including Eastland First Baptist Church.

The Texas A&M Forest Service said firefighters worked alongside local responding agencies overnight on a number of forest fires that broke out the day before.

“Strong winds and critically dry grasses have contributed to extreme fire behavior and rapid dispersal rates across the landscape,” it said.

The service said firefighters continue to “focus on life safety and structural protection, as well as building lines where possible.”