AMARILLO, Texas (AP) — Numerous wildfires erupted in the parched, windy Texas Panhandle on Thursday, prompting a mandatory evacuation of one town and threatening homes in another.

Officials in Lefors in Gray County ordered the evacuation of the town of about 500, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Wayne Beighle said. Residents were taken to a shelter in nearby Pampa, about 54 miles northeast of Amarillo, he said.

The threatened homes were north of Pampa, Beighle said.

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At least nine fires were burning in the region, officials said.

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