4 Dead as Grass Fires Burn in Oklahoma and Texas...

"America the beautiful, what beauty shall you have when the fires are upon you? O My children, I repeat Myself over and over again to you, hoping in My Mother's heart that you will listen." (Our Lady, 5-18-77)

CROSS PLAINS, Texas -- Firefighters searched for missing people and hoped for cooler, calmer weather today after deadly wildfires raced across thousands of acres of grassland dried out by Texas' worst drought in decades and destroyed dozens of homes.

The wind-driven fires were blamed for four deaths, the Texas Division of Emergency Management said today. In addition to the deaths, at least three people were unaccounted-for today in Cross Plains, a town of about 1,000 people, fire officials said. Firefighters were searching burned-out houses.

More than 100 buildings, including 78 homes, were destroyed by Tuesday's fires, which burned across 13,000 acres, the state emergency management agency said. That included about 25 homes in Cross Plains, local fire officials said. Blazes also destroyed at least two dozen homes in Oklahoma. Fires were still smoldering today in four Texas counties, the agency said. One new fire was reported today in an isolated area of eastern Oklahoma; it was later contained.

Patricia Cook said her home in Cross Plains was saved by her 18-year-old son, J.D., and a friend, who saw the flames approaching the house and ran to save it. "The fire was literally nipping at their heels," she said. "He just picked up the hose and started watering things down." The Cook home is on the same block as the First United Methodist Church, which was destroyed. "We had a tornado here years ago and we thought that was devastating. This lasted for hours and hours," she said.

Severe drought, wind gusting to 40 mph and temperatures reaching the low 80s set the stage for the fires, which authorities believe were mostly set by people ignoring fire bans and burning trash, shooting fireworks or tossing cigarettes on the crunchy, dry grass. A fallen power line apparently started one Oklahoma blaze. "If we have a situation where we are able to prove that someone intentionally started this, we will probably prosecute them to the full extent of the law," said Kennedale Mayor Jim Norwood.

Temperatures peaking in the 60s and 70s were likely today. "The little cooler conditions will help, if the winds stay down," Norwood said. However, the area is unusually dry. "This is the driest that we know on record since 1959," Keith Ebel, a deputy Texas fire marshal, said on CBS' "The Early Show." "It's extremely dry. We have lakes that have completely dried up that are normally 20, 30 feet deep."

North Texas, where many of the fires broke out, is experiencing its driest year since 1956, the National Weather Service said. As of today, 18.97 inches of rain had fallen at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and no more rain is forecast before Jan. 1, meteorologist Alan Moller said. That's in sharp contrast with 2004, one of Texas' wettest years on record, when Dallas-Fort Worth got 45.5 inches. The average for the region is 34.73 inches, Moller said.

Oklahoma has received about 24 inches of rain this year, about 12 inches less than normal. Texas Forest Service spokeswoman Traci Weaver called the wildfires the state's worst since February 1996, when blazes that covered 16,000 acres destroyed 141 structures around Poolville, about 40 miles northwest of Fort Worth.

Firefighters in Cross Plains couldn't fight all the blazes at once. "Instantly, there were 15 or 20 houses on fire at same time and no way to get around to all of them," said rancher Dean Dillard.

One of the deaths was a woman found dead in her home in Cross Plains, but no other details were available, Assistant Fire Chief Rick Caruth said. A second was a woman who apparently fell and broke her hip and couldn't get out of her home in Callisburg, near the Texas-Oklahoma line, before it was destroyed by the flames, firefighters said. Details on the other two deaths weren't immediately available. At least 15 Texas firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation or heat exhaustion, plus two more in Oklahoma, authorities said. In Oklahoma City, a child suffered minor burns on his hands when a shed caught fire. That blaze was apparently started by children playing with fireworks, Fire Department Maj. Brian Stanaland said.

The awesome Bayside Prophecies... https://www.tldm.org/Bayside/
These prophecies came from Jesus, Mary, and the saints to Veronica Lueken at Bayside, NY, from 1968 to 1995:

The fires shall increase...
Our Lady - "Pray, My children, a constant vigilance of prayer. Pray that your leaders will recognize the signs given by your God. Shall these increase in volume: the earth quakes, the pestilence, the fires, the floods, the great heat? My children, who holds the balance for this? You, My children do! The merciful heart of the Father watches patiently, but I repeat: the sands are fast running out of the hourglass." (3-18-77)

The Mechanical Aptitude to set upon the world the Great Fires...
Jesus - "My children, it is because of man's sin that this trial has come upon you. Through countless earth - years My Mother wandered to and fro pleading with you to accept and not reject Her counsel, for as errant children you would receive your just reward. Man has now, in his search for knowledge, the facilities, the mechanical aptitude to set upon your world the great fires. Man, who has ever been searching and never coming to the truth!" (11-14-77)

How many warnings must the Eternal Father send upon mankind...
Our Lady - "O My children, you are truly blind! These warnings have been given for time, and an extension of time to mankind before the major catastrophe shall be sent upon you, the baptism of fire. You have received these warnings that have gone by unnoticed: floods, hurricanes, fires, disasters, accidents that are not accidents, earthquakes in places that have never experienced such terror before. How many warnings must the Eternal Father send upon mankind before they will awaken and do penance?" (9-28-76)

What beauty shall you have when the fires are upon you?
Our Lady - "America the beautiful, what beauty shall you have when the fires are upon you? O My children, I repeat Myself over and over again to you, hoping in My Mother's heart that you will listen. The sheep are straying; the shepherds are lost." ( 5-18-77)

I see fires springing up...
Veronica - I see a huge globe now coming through the sky. It looks like a globe of the earth. Like pinpoints I see fires springing up. I don't understand it. It looks like the globe is on fire. (6-18-93)

Our Lady - "You will observe, My child, the fires that will rage across earth." (1-31-76)

Crucifix on front and back door... The only real protection against fires...
Jesus - "Pray and wear your sacramentals. And, also, My children, I ask you again to place a crucifix upon your door. Both front and back doors must have a crucifix. I say this to you because there will be carnage within your areas, and this will pass you by if you keep your crucifix upon your doors." (6-30-84) (Testimonies of lives and homes saved by the crucifixes.) https://www.tldm.org/news/crucifix.htm

Directives from Heaven... https://www.tldm.org/directives/directives.htm

D47 - United States (Part 1)
D48 - United States (Part 2)
D156 - Terrorism PDF
D158 - America the Beautiful PDF
D193 - Turn back: You are on the wrong road PDF
D205 - Sin is insanity PDF

We encourage everyone to print or email copies of this web page to all the Bishops and all the clergy. Also, email or send this web page to the news media and as many people as possible.

"My children, My little humble children, I appeal to you as your Mother, go forward on foot, knock on the doors; bring the light to your brothers and sisters. For those who have been given great grace, much is expected of them." - Our Lady of the Roses, May 26, 1976

"As disciples of the latter days, My children, much shall be asked of you, but I assure you: all that you give in faith and charity shall be returned to you threefold." - Jesus, June 1, 1978

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