Wildfires Outside Of Austin Claim Over 1000 Homes

While Rick Perry continues his campaign of slander against President Obama, his constituents back in Texas are shook, afraid to have to face what’s happening in Austin right now.

Texas authorities said today that the wildfires that began Sunday in Bastrop have destroyed 1,386 homes. The Austin American Statesman reports that officials came to that number by going “house by house and driveway by driveway.”

NPR member station KUT reports the wildfire in Bastrop County is still raging. The Texas Forest Service told them that fire is 30 percent contained.

Other parts of Texas are facing the same predicament. The Houston Chronicle reports that fires have forced the evacuation of thousands and destroyed dozens of homes in the Houston suburbs. There are two main fires, the paper reports: One in Montgomery County, which is mostly contained, and a new “hot spot” in Waller County, which firefighters lost of control of last night.

There are apparently 180 wildfires burning in Texas right now, thanks to this summer’s drought. Meanwhile, parts of the East Coast are being evacuated because of flooding.

This is what the fire near Austin looks like in space:

Source