Hundreds of people were forced to flee after a wildfire, still out of control Monday, burned dozens of homes in the Texas panhandle, NBC News reported.
The fire broke out near Fritch in Hutchinson County around 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon (5 p.m. ET). As it continued to rage into the night despite being 75 percent contained by firefighters, 100 homes were left destroyed and 1,500 acres of land have burned since the wildfire sparked, CBS News' Omar Villafranca reported.
"We have more than 100 homes confirmed destroyed but we won't know how many have actually been burned until it gets light," Fritch Police Chief Monty Leggett told NBC News at 4:30 a.m. local time on Monday (5:30 a.m. ET)
In the surrounding area of Fritch, between 300 and 400 people had been forced to leave their houses and an unknown number did not have power, Leggett said.
The possibility of evacuating 2,100-population city was being considered but officials decided that it wasn't necessary on late Sunday.
There were no deaths or injuries related to the blaze, the police chief added.
Every fire department in Hutchinson County was called to the blaze and people were evacuated to at least three schools and churches being used for shelter across the area, according to NBC News.
The situation had not been fully assessed by the authorities, CBS News reported.
"We don't know the extent of the damage," Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Chris Ray said. "We don't know if they're completely burned, partially burned. We just haven't been able to get in there to evaluate."
"Words cannot express the sadness and fear you have for the people's homes, belongings and lives," Vicki Bybee, one of the evacuees, told the Amarillo Globe News.
Around 100 emergency service personnel were on the ground battling to contain the blaze as of 4:30 a.m. local time. The Texas Forestry Service was scheduled to assist the effort with water drops from two aircraft on Monday, Leggett added.
Schools in the Fritch area will be closed Monday as fire crews from all over the Texas Panhandle and New Mexico work to put out the fire, CBS News reported.
