DALLAS – The ongoing drought in Texas and neighboring Southwestern states is contributing to what weather officials say could be another bad week of wildfires.
The National Weather Service issued "red flag warnings" Monday for portions of Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
Dry, hot weather and strong winds already have fires burning in some states. A fire about 70 miles east of Lubbock in West Texas has burned about 65,000 acres, while one near Alpine forced the evacuations of several hundred homes Sunday. Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson says those families have since been allowed to return.
About 2.3 million acres have burned in Texas since wildfire season began in November.
The gusty winds and low humidity helping fuel the fires are expected to last through Wednesday.
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