Amid optimism, 19 new fires spring up in Texas
They're still fighting fires in Texas, with 19 new fires springing up on Wednesday. Each time firefighters get some control over one, another springs up.
Texas has spent more than $61 million fighting wildfires since June.
CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds reports that officials say the big Bastrop fire is 30 percent contained now, as more and more firemen from out of state pour into Texas to help out.
The fires are moving so fast, that some neighborhoods had less than 15 minutes to evacuate. An elite search and rescue team has been brought in to look through the ruins for trapped homeowners -- or bodies.
"This is not a one-day ordeal. This is going to be a long process," said Ronnie McDonald, Bastrop County judge.
Roadblocks are up at major intersections in an attempt to give firemen the best shot at surrounding the blaze.
Waiting at one checkpoint, local resident Julia Hickman said: "We just want to see our home, you know, we just want to see where it was."
A neighbor snapped a picture of where their two storey brick home used to stand and where their dog Annie died.
"There are many, many, many of our friends that don't have homes and many people out here that don't have anything," Julia said.
Fire crews make gains against Texas blaze"No containment" of Texas wildfire
Video: Winds whip up Texas wildfires
The only thing left for many residents to do is to start searching for a place to live. Finding a place to live is an issue for thousands. The Bastrop Middle School is a temporary shelter. Ken and Lynn Conner arrived with only the clothes on their backs. Their house burned down Monday.
"We're going back. That's our house, our property, our life out there," Lynn said. "We are going to rebuild."
With the fire at least 30 percent contained, there was some tentative optimism voiced by the firefighting teams. One official said there's been pretty good progress, and expressed the hope that by the end of the day he'll be able to say this fire won't be getting any bigger.
The fires have been too big and numerous for just local firefighters to handle. While there's no definitive tally, there have been firefighters arriving from as far away as Nevada and North Dakota.
