Published March 17, 2017
The Latest on wildfires in Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado. (all times local):
12:10 p.m.
Officials say two of the three fires that have burned the Texas Panhandle this week are fully contained and firefighters are tamping down the largest of the three.
The Texas A&M Forest Service says a fire in the northeast corner of the Panhandle near the Oklahoma border has burned nearly 500 square miles and was 75 percent contained Thursday.
A separate fire just to the south was fully contained after burning about 210 square miles. A smaller fire to the west, near Amarillo, was fully contained by firefighters Tuesday.
Four people have died in the Texas fires, while a fifth person was killed in Oklahoma and another person died in Kansas.
Three of the people killed in Texas were trying to usher cattle away from the flames when they were overcome.
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8:30 a.m.
Fire crews are expecting slower winds as they work to extinguish blazes that have scorched hundreds of square miles of land in four states and killed six people.
Most of the burned land is in Kansas, where more than 1,000 square miles has been consumed in a series of fires. One that spans two counties along Kansas' southern border with Oklahoma is the largest in the state's recorded history.
Emergency officials in the two counties said Thursday morning that the fire is largely contained, with crews working to monitor hot spots.
Comanche County Emergency Manager John Lehman says the ground is "extremely dry," so it's possible the fire could re-ignite.
In neighboring Clark County, emergency management spokeswoman Allison Kuhns says "frankly there not much left to burn."
https://www.foxnews.com/us/the-latest-2-of-3-fires-burning-in-texas-fully-contained