Texas wildfires claim 700 homes, force evacuations

Lone Camp Volunteer Fire Department firefighter Crews in Texas Tuesday battled dozens of wildfires that have destroyed more than 700 homes in just two days and forced thousands to flee thick smoke and flames. "This is one of the meanest fires I've ever seen," Texas Governor Rick Perry told reporters after an aerial tour of the homes destroyed in the Steiner Ranch subdivision.
"The magnitudes of these losses are pretty stunning."
The Republican White House hopeful had been campaigning in South Carolina ahead of a major debate on Wednesday night when the fires swept through subdivisions and towns near the state capitol of Austin.
He bowed out of several events so he could survey the damage and meet with evacuees.
Gregg County Sheriff Maxey Cerliano told reporters the victims were found dead near Gladewater, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) east of Fort Worth.
Firefighters have responded to 181 blazes that have burned more than 118,000 acres in the past week, according to the latest situation report from the Texas Forest Service.
More than 3.5 million acres -- about the size of the state of Connecticut -- have been burned by 18,719 blazes since the wildfire season began in December.
Officials have ruled out arson as the cause of the fires and instead blame Tropical Depression Lee, which  was graded as a more serious tropical storm when it came ashore in southern Louisiana early Sunday.