DALLAS — A 20-year-old woman and her 18-month-old daughter were killed Sunday inside their home as it was engulfed by a fast-moving wildfire, an east Texas sheriff said. Wildfires spread across eastern and central Texas, due partly to winds from Tropical Storm Lee and the passage of a cool front, authorities said.
Gregg County Sheriff Maxey Cerliano said a man was burned but was able to escape from the home between Lincoln City and Gladewater, more than 100 miles east of Dallas. The victims were not immediately identified.
Local and state firefighting crews scrambled to contain the blazes, which have destroyed homes and forced evacuations in parched areas. Winds were from the north to northeast at 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 40 mph and relative humidity at 20 to 30 percent.
The National Weather Service said southern, central and eastern Texas were under “red flag” warnings. The threat was so dire in central Texas that the Austin Fire Department issued a public appeal for all available firefighters to report for duty.
