Obama declares state of emergency in wildfire-ravaged Texas
Bastrop, Texas (CNN) -- President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency in Texas, making federal funding available to those affected by wildfires in Bastrop County.
"Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster," the White House said in a statement.
The declaration Friday night comes after Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst expressed frustration with the lack of response from the federal government
Texas urgently needs federal help, Dewhurst has said.
Nearly 1,400 homes have been destroyed in Bastrop County since wildfires started there about a week ago, Dewhurst said.
Other major fires are burning in Cass, Grimes, Montgomery, Travis and Waller counties, according to the Texas Forest Service.
Dewhurst, who is acting governor while Gov. Rick Perry travels, had said he got no response to a statewide disaster declaration request earlier this week. So he has signed another one to drive the point home.
"We need help yesterday," Dewhurst said earlier Friday.
Texas officials were working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to get disaster declarations for specific counties, including Bastrop.
At more than 34,000 acres, the Bastrop County Complex fire near Austin is the largest burning in the state. Made up of two smaller fires -- the Bastrop fire and the Union Chapel fire -- it has turned parts of the county into a nearly post-apocalyptic scene.
"Utility poles are still burning, stumps are still burning, wire is hanging through the air with only half a pole, swinging. Lines are on the ground," said Mark Rose, general manager of Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative.
Residents are increasingly frustrated over not being allowed back into the fire zone to survey their property, County Judge Ronnie McDonald said.
But the main priority is making sure no one else dies from the fire, he said.
Search crews found two people dead in the rubble of a neighborhood Tuesday.
"We＇re trying to make sure we do not let anyone in until it＇s safe," he said.
The Bastrop fire was about 40% contained Friday, while the Union Chapel fire was 90% contained.
Dewhurst said firefighters had stopped the flames＇ forward progress, but Bastrop emergency management coordinator Mike Fisher said fires and hot spots are scattered throughout the county.
Elsewhere in the state, the forest service said a fire that may have burned up to 40,000 acres in Cass County was continuing to spread. The Bear Creek Fire had destroyed eight homes and was being battled by everything from ground crews to heavy air tankers, the forest service said.
And another major fire near Houston was 60% contained, the forest service said Friday. The Riley Road fire had affected 15,000 acres in Grimes, Montgomery and Waller counties, and was moving to the southwest through Waller, the forest service reported.
The service said it had responded to 186 fires covering 156,517 acres in the past week. Nineteen new fires broke out Thursday, mostly small ones, the agency said.
Since January 1, state and local firefighters and crews from across the country have battled 18,887 wildfires over more than 3.5 million acres in Texas, according to state officials.
The past 10 months since fire season began in November have been the driest in the state since 1895, Dewhurst said.
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