Fires race across Texas, Oklahoma

The fires, at least several of which officials blamed on children playing with fireworks, raced across a countryside parched by months of abnormally dry weather.

Winds near 64 kph whipped through the region, while temperatures rose to an unseasonably high 27 Celsius on Tuesday.

"It's dry as a bone, and brittle," said Oklahoma City Fire Department spokesman Brian Stanaland. "The fire is traveling extremely rapidly. It's hopscotching across the country."

Television reports showed the fires moving across the prairies and into housing developments where homes were ablaze and cars burning in their driveways. Residents watered their yards to prevent flying sparks from igniting the grass.

At least six houses were destroyed and many others damaged in fires around Oklahoma City, the local sheriff's office said.