RSOE EDIS - Emergency and Disaster Information Service - StumbleUpon

Strong winds and tinder-dry conditions presented more challenges Sunday for firefighters battling a spate of wildfires threatening communities across Texas, including a blaze in Austin that destroyed several homes and prompted an aerial water attack in the capital city. Meanwhile, the Texas Department of Public Safety disclosed that a volunteer firefighter who died Friday had been hit by a vehicle after fleeing a fire truck trapped in a wildfire-consumed pasture between Fort Worth and Abilene. A preliminary autopsy report from the Tarrant County medical examiner in Fort Worth said Eastland volunteer firefighter Greg Simmons died of blunt force trauma, Senior DPS Trooper Phillip "Sparky" Dean told The Associated Press on Sunday. Eastland officials initially said the 50-year-old firefighter died after being overcome by smoke and falling into a ditch. The wildfires have ravaged more than 1,000 square miles of mostly rural terrain in the last week, prompting Gov. Rick Perry to ask President Barack Obama for federal help. "Texas is reaching its capacity to respond to these emergencies and is in need of federal assistance," Perry said in a statement Sunday. "I urge President Obama to approve our request quickly.

RSOE EDIS - Emergency and Disaster Information Service - StumbleUpon