Spring doesn't start, officially, for several weeks yet, but we're already seeing the  Spring-like weather that always leads to wildfires in dry areas of west Texas.

The first of what will be many such fires burned more than 110 thousand acres and destroyed dozens of homes in the Panhandle near Amarillo over the weekend.

A Texas Forest Service spokesman says 68 homes have been destroyed. Ten were in the town of Colorado City and the rest in the Amarillo area.  There is still a high risk of fire in the Midland, Abilene, Panhandle and Lubbock areas.

A traffic accident on the smoke-blanketed Interstate 20 near Midland killed a 5-year-old girl Sunday. One firefighter suffered second-degree burns in a fire near Colorado City.

Sixteen fire engines from departments across the state have been moved to West Texas to deal with the wildfire conditions.  The engines are especially designed for fighting wildfires.

via About 110,000 acres burn in West Texas wildfires | Amarillo Globe-News.

The Forest Service spokesman says the agency's firefighting aircraft, which were grounded Sunday due to the strong winds, are expected to fly today.

More From Newstalk 860