"Historic" Texas wildfires

A large wildfire on Highway 71 near Smithville, Texas, Monday, Sep. 5, 2011 burns piles of lumber and ranch posts. A roaring wildfire raced unchecked Monday through rain-starved farm and ranchland in the Bastrop area of Texas, fanned in part by howling winds from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee.

Volunteer fireman Ryan Mills douses hot spots with water on a wildfire near Bastrop, Texas, Friday, Sept. 9, 2011. Texas is suffering its worst wildfire outbreak in state history. The Bastrop area fire has been the largest of nearly 190 wildfires that the forest service says erupted this week, leaving nearly 1,700 homes statewide in charred ruins, killing four people and forcing thousands of people to evacuate.

Firefighting helicopters dump water and flame retardant after loading up with water from a pond at Lost Pines Golf Club as they fight a fire in Bastrop State Park September 6, 2011 in Bastrop, Texas.

A fresh team of firefighters that just arrived from the Sequoia National Forest in California work hot spots on the fire near Bastrop, Texas, Friday, Sept. 9, 2011. Texas is suffering its worst wildfire outbreak in state history. The Bastrop-area fire has been the largest of nearly 190 wildfires the forest service says erupted this week, leaving nearly 1,700 homes statewide in charred ruins, killing four people and forcing thousands of people to evacuate.

An aerial view shows a burned ridge line September 7, 2011 east of Bastrop, Texas.

An aerial view shows a burned area around a water tower September 7, 2011 in Bastrop, Texas.

An aerial view shows burned houses in the Tahitian Village subdivision September 7, 2011 in Bastrop, Texas.

An aerial view shows a row of burned houses in the Tahitian Village subdivision September 7, 2011 in Bastrop, Texas.

Gaye Jaco hugs her stepdaughter Jennifer Leaver upon returning to the remains of their home on the east side of Lake Bastop on September 6, 2011 outside Bastrop, Texas.

Mary Bell Lunsford posts an undated listing of homes affected by wildfires, Sept. 8, 2011, in Bastrop, Texas. The fire has destroyed nearly 1,400 homes in and around Bastrop.

Firefighters from around the state battle a large wildfire on Highway 71 near Smithville, Texas, Monday, Sep. 5, 2011.

Firefighters from Smithville Fire Department battle a large wildfire on Highway 71 near Smithville, Texas, Monday, Sep. 5, 2011. A roaring wildfire raced unchecked Monday through rain-starved farm and ranchland in Texas, destroying nearly 500 homes during a rapid advance fanned in part by howling winds from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee.

Remnants of a burned-out home off Highway 71 near Bastrop, Texas as a series of large wildfires continue to burn Monday, Sept. 5, 2011.

AP Photo/The Daily Texan, Thomas Allison

Local resident George Harris looks on from a safe distance as firefighters attempt to control a blaze in Cedar Creek, Texas on Monday, Sept. 5, 2011.

Firefighters from around the state battle a large wildfire on Highway 71 near Smithville, Texas, Monday, Sep. 5, 2011.

A series of large wildfires as seen heading east approaching Bastrop, Texas on Highway 71 Monday, Sep. 5, 2011.

Firefighters from the Coppell Fire Department watch as an S-64 Skycrane helicopter drops a fire retardant to help contain a wildfire burning through parts of Cedar Creek, Texas Monday afternoon Sept. 5, 2011. At least 5,000 people were forced from their homes in Bastrop County about 25 miles east of Austin, and about 400 were in emergency shelters, officials said.

A helicopter drops water onto a blaze in Cedar Creek, Texas on Monday, Sept. 5, 2011.

Steven Smith of the Weir Fire Department dons protective clothing in the Bluebonnet Volunteer Fire Department station in Cedar Creek, Texas on Monday, Sept. 5, 2011.

AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Ian McVea

This aerial photo shows charred land, near Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011.

Ajay Bryan watches on as local firefighters and police attempt to move downwind of the blaze and halt its progress in Cedar Creek, Texas on Monday, Sept. 5, 2011.

Jack Novak, in red, head pastor with The Grove church, leads a prayer outside Magnolia High School where residents evacuated from their homes near a 300-acre wild fire gathered Monday, Sept. 5, 2011 in Magnolia, Texas. Nearly 8,000 residents were evacuated from their homes.

AP Photo/The Tyler Morning Telegraph, Sarah A. Miller

Embers and small flames on tree roots glow with heat in a wooded area off of County Road 320 in Anderson County, Texas, Monday, Sept. 5, 2011. The fire in the area near Frankston originally began Thursday and rekindled Saturday morning. Winds have caused many fires to spread and rekindle in the East Texas area.

Parts of trees and foliage catch flame in a wooded area off of County Road 320 in Anderson County, Texas, Monday, Sept. 5, 2011. The fire in the area near Frankston originally began Thursday and rekindled Saturday morning. Winds have caused many fires to spread and rekindle in the East Texas area.

Patricia Bloodworth-Neville sobs inside the Bluebonnet Volunteer Fire Station in Bastrop County, Texas on Monday, Sept. 5, 2011.

AP Photo/ Daily Sentinel, Dustin Anderson

A member of the Cushing V.F.D. fights a brush fire that started when a car caught fire Monday, Sept. 5, 2011 in Nacogdoches, Texas. A roaring wildfire raced unchecked Monday through rain-starved farm and ranchland in Texas, destroying nearly 500 homes during a rapid advance fanned in part by howling winds from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee.

Smoke can be seen from a 300-acre wildfire in Magnolia, Texas on Monday, Sept. 5, 2011. Nearly 8,000 residents were evacuated from the area.

A helicopter is used to drop water on a wildfire, Monday, Sept. 5, 2011, near Bastrop, Texas.

An Aldine firefighter battles a 300-acre wildfire on FM 1774 near FM 1486 in Magnolia, Texas on Monday, Sept. 5, 2011. Nearly 8,000 residents were evacuated from the area.

Bastrop, Texas County resident John Raworth and his two dogs watch as a wildfire jumps the street in their central Texas neighborhood on Monday, Sept. 5, 2011.

Texas wildfires — Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Lone Camp Volunteer Fire Department chief Charlie Sims leads his crew while fighting a wildfire, Sept. 1, 2011, in Graford, Texas.

An air tanker drops fire retardant on a fire near Possum Kingdom Lake — AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Ron Jenkins

An air tanker drops fire retardant on a fire in The Cliffs development, Aug. 31, 2011 near Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas.

Helicopter drops water on a wildfire near Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas — AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Robby Ferguson

A helicopter drops water on a fire near the entrance to The Cliffs on the south east side Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas, Aug. 30, 2011.

Fire fighters battle a wildfire in Porter, Texas — AP Photo/The Courier, Karl Anderson

Fire fighters control a wildfire that threatened a natural gas pipeline in Porter, Texas, Aug 29, 2011.

A tanker airplane drops fire retardant on a wildfire on September 1, 2011 in Graford, Texas. More than 6,500 acres and more than 45 homes in the area have burned.

Lone Camp Volunteer Fire Department fire fighter Joe Crawford battles a wildfire on September 1, 2011 in Graford, Texas.

Lone Camp Volunteer Fire Department fire fighter Ted Hale fights a wildfire on September 1, 2011 in Graford, Texas.

AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Robby Ferguson

A helicopter drops water on a fire near the entrance to The Cliffs on the south east side Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011. The fire had spread in Palo Pinto County by Tuesday night, agency spokesman John Nichols said. It comes just four months after massive blazes in roughly the same area scorched hundreds of thousands of acres and destroyed 160 homes in the Possum Kingdom Lake area.

Smoke rises from a wildfire at Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011. Texas and Oklahoma are in the grips of a record-setting drought, and a summer of soaring temperatures and little rain has meant the wildfire season, which usually ends in spring, didn't end this year.

A home destroyed by a wildfire is shown at Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011. Some streets were virtually untouched by the fire that swept through the area on Tuesday, with homes fronted by lawns that could double as putting greens, but others were reduced to rows of scorched stone fireplaces and twisted metal frames.

AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Ron Jenkins

Lawn furniture are the only items remaining from a home, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011 near Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas.

An air tanker drops fire retardant on a fire in The Cliffs development Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011 near Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas.

Mike Hester of Henderson County holds a a cat he rescued from a burned-out area in The Cliffs Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011 near Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas.

A charred bicycle is all that remains from the wildfires, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011 near Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas.

Wildfires continue to burn Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011 near Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas.

A wildfire roars through dry trees near Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011.

AP Photo/Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Paul Moseley

A helicopter drops fire retardant on a blaze on the south end of Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas, Thursday, September 1, 2011. Texas Forest Service spokesman John Nichols told The Associated Press that 39 homes have been destroyed by the blaze, which has blackened at least 6,200 acres since Tuesday.