Texas battles wildfires

The worst of the fires is the Bastrop Country Complex fire, which stretches for 16 miles.

Texas Governor Rick Perry, the Republican presidential candidate, has left the campaign trail to return to Texas to deal with the disaster.

He told a news briefing: “I have seen a lot of mean-looking fires in my time, but this one is the meanest. You realize the devastation when you see it first hand.

“I am not paying any attention to politics right now. There are people’s homes and lives in danger, and that is far more important. I have never seen a fire season like this.”

I have seen a lot of mean-looking fires in my time, but this one is the meanest. Texas Governor Rick Perry

He added: “We have lost more than 3.5 million acres to brush fires, that is an area larger than the state of Connecticut. We have a long way to go to get this thing contained.”

The authorities estimate that 424 homes have been destroyed so far, and in Gregg County in the north east of the state, a 20-year-old woman and her 18-month-old daughter were killed on Sunday when their mobile home went up in flames.

Fire fighters were called out to 63 different fires on Sunday, burning on more than 32,000 acres and forcing many people to evacuate. The Texas Forest Service said dozens of aircraft are now involved in the fire-fighting efforts.

More than 3.6m acres have been scorched by wildfires in Texas since November, fed by a continuing drought. They have caused more than $5bn in damages to the state’s agricultural industry.