Mississippi Sends Team To Help Put Out Texas Wildfires

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi is sending five firefighters to Texas to help that state put out wildfires.

The Mississippi Forestry Commission says the group will arrive Tuesday in Merkel, Texas, just west of Abilene.

The team is bringing two bulldozers that they use to create fire breaks along the edge of a wildfire.

State Forester Charlie Morgan says the Mississippi personnel are expected to stay in Texas for about two weeks.

Texas officials reported Sunday that 111 wildfires had burned nearly 25,000 acres (10,000 hectares) across the state in the previous week. State officials reported 19 active wildfires on Monday, with the largest fires concentrated in the state’s panhandle.

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