I used to live in Texas, back in the mid 1980s, and asking the Federal government for anything was a dishonorable thing to do, if you’re from Texas.  I guess things are pretty bad if Texas Governor Rick Perry is asking President Obama for help.

“Texas is reaching its capacity to respond to these emergencies and is in need of federal assistance. I urge President Obama to approve our request quickly.”-Rick Perry, Texas Governor

One person has been arrested for starting one of the fires, near Austin.

Because of bad weather conditions, drought and winds, it looks like the fires will get worse: “It doesn’t look good, going into the season, to already have a fire this size, without any rain in sight.”-Chris Morris, National Weather Service.

Texas Forest Service officials say conditions are still explosive.  The fire is now burning residential areas.  Officials say, as of April 17, the fires have burned one million acres (404,685 hectares)