Texas is burning right now. More than a thousand homes have already been lost, 5,000 people have been evacuated and more fires are popping up. Some of the fires are so big that you can see them from space.
It's a really scary situation, a lot of people don't even know what's going to happen—there are an estimated 85 fires burning with more than 7,500 acres already destroyed by the fires. According to people in the Lone Star State, the entire state smells like fire and the clouds are filled with smoke (most of the fires are in Central Texas).
Something as small as a Labor Day BBQ could start a fire because it's hot, it's dry and it's windy in Texas. Absolutely destructive weather and with no rain in sight, the fires are raging and spreading. The Texas Forest Service said, "this is unprecedented fire behavior. No one on the face of this Earth has ever fought fires in these extreme conditions." The space shots of the fires come from NASA and though they don't show the damage up close (like these photos do), it does show the sheer size and power behind it. Hopefully, everyone fighting these fires can stay safe. [LA Times via @MattHardigree, Image Credit: NASA]
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This is Austin right now. The Bastrop Fire is in the background [TXStormChasers]
Image Credit: Bruce Sterling via BoingBoing]