BASTROP, Texas — Calmer winds Tuesday should help firefighters battling a wildfire that has destroyed more than 1,000 homes in Central Texas and forced thousands of residents to evacuate to shelters to avoid the blaze, officials said.
But Gov. Rick Perry told NBC's TODAY that the fires were "a long way" from being under control and described the effect on people who had lost their homes as "devastating."
Texas Forest Service spokeswoman Victoria Koenig said it is too early to say how much progress was made fighting the wildfire in Bastrop County overnight, but that there were no winds early Tuesday. The fire enveloped at least 25,000 acres Monday.
"It's encouraging we don't have winds right now, not like yesterday," Koenig said early Tuesday morning.
Even with the encouraging conditions, Koenig said it was a "tough, tough fire" that was raging through rugged terrain, including a ridge of hills.
"You can still see the hills glowing quite a bit," she said.
At least 5,000 people were forced from their homes in Bastrop County about 25 miles east of Austin, the state capital, and about 400 were in emergency shelters, officials said Monday. School and school-related activities were canceled Tuesday.
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