300 houses up in flames in Texas

A mother and a child were killed in a blaze near Dallas, as a Texas wildfire has destroyed 300 homes, leaving thousands of residents abandoning their homes.

International news media report that the 16-mile-long Austin fire has burned through 14,000 acres and is now threatening an additional 700 houses. Over the last two days, firefighters have been battling a dozen brush and grass blazes throughout eastern and central Texas as dry conditions and whipped fuelled the fire.

Reportedly, two of the fires started from flames from barbeque pits, whilst another one ignited as a teen burned love letters outdoors.

"We're a little on edge," a Texas Forest Service spokesman told Reuters. "We have several fires that we thought we had put out, but these winds came up and started them up again."