Gov. Abbott: Nearly 500 Structures Destroyed by Fires; Need to Find Shelter for Those Who Lost Homes

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said up to 500 structures may have been destroyed by the largest wildfire in state history while in Borger during a Friday news conference. “When you look at the damages that have occurred here—it’s just gone, completely gone. Nothing left but ashes on the ground,” Mr. Abbott said. The Republican governor cautioned that the number of lost properties could rise and that damage assessments were still underway. Mr. Abbott says work needs to be done to find shelter for those whose homes were destroyed by the wildfires and plans to request a federal disaster declaration. The Smokehouse Creek fire, which started Monday, has burned about 1,700 square miles in the Texas Panhandle and killed two people. It has left behind a charred landscape of scorched prairie, dead cattle, and burned-out homes....