NASA posted video of the massive Texas wildfires as seen from space.
Watch the impressive video, AFTER THE JUMP...
The AP notes that many, many homes have been destroyed:
More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed in at least 57 wildfires across rain-starved Texas, most of them in one devastating blaze near Austin that is still raging out of control, officials said Tuesday. Gov. Rick Perry, who cut short a presidential campaign trip to South Carolina on Monday to return to help oversee firefighting efforts in Texas, toured a blackened area near Bastrop, about 25 miles from Austin, where a fast-moving blaze destroyed nearly 600 homes on Monday.
CBS 8 adds:
As the crisis unfolded, Gov. Rick Perry was faced with the decision to leave the state and participate in a GOP presidential debate or stay at home and command operations to fight the disaster. At least two people have died in the wildfire, which has destroyed more than 600 homes and blackened about 45 square miles in and around Bastrop, a city near Austin.
Perry actually cut funding for fire departments in Texas, Opposing Views adds:
According to KVUE-TV, the state of Texas, under Gov. Rick Perry, cut state funding for the volunteer fire departments that protect most of the state from wildfires. Firefighters have actually been dipping into their own pockets to fight fires. Volunteer departments that were already facing financial strain had their funding cut from $30 million to $7 million. There are 879 volunteer fire departments in Texas; 114 are paid fire departments, while 187 departments are a combination of volunteer and paid.
Watch the impressive video, AFTER THE JUMP...