Firefighters battled Monday to contain several large blazes thathave burned hundreds of square miles of rural Texas and destroyeddozens of homes since last week, getting reinforcements from out ofstate as they struggled against some of the worst wildfireconditions in state history.

Powerful winds that sent walls of flame through parchedranchland in and around several West Texas communities—incineratingmore than 60 homes during the weekend and killing livestock andhorses—took pity by directing the fires to largely unpopulated openspaces north and east of the cities.

Rain from last summer's Hurricane Alex led to particularly lushvegetation growth, said Mark Stanford, the operations director forthe Texas Forest Service. A cold winter and the drought killed offmuch of that growth, and with fewer cattle grazing on Texaspasturelands, the dried remains have provided a perfect fuel forwildfires to consume, he said.

Photos below and on the following pages show the extent ofdamage to livestock, terrain, and property. Some images may bedeemed disturbing.

In this April 9, 2011, photo a heard of cattle run from awildfire near Marfa, Texas. The fire danger remains high in WestTexas where firefighters are battling a blaze that's destroyeddozens of homes in two communities. (AP Photo/bigbendnow.com,Alberto Tomas Halpern)

In this April 10, 2011, photo, a cow caught in a wildfire liesin a field between Marfa and Fort Davis, Texas. Crews are trying tocontain fires elsewhere in the state. (AP Photo/bigbendnow.com,Alberto Tomas Halpern)

In this April 9, 2011 photo, a large plume of smoke is seenwhere the fire began two miles west of Marfa, Texas. The firedanger remains high in West Texas. (AP Photo/bigbendnow.com,Alberto Tomas Halpern)

A home and vehicles destroyed by wildfire are shown in FortDavis, Texas, Sunday, April 10, 2011. (AP Photo/Billy Marginot)

An uncontrolled wildfire burns at the Jeff Davis and PresidioCounty line near Fort Davis, Texas, Sunday, April 10, 2011. Afast-moving wildfire had spread to more than 60,000 acres inPresidio County and Jeff Davis County, where it destroyed about 20homes in Fort Davis. (AP Photo/Billy Marginot)

A home destroyed by fire is shown, and an uncontrolled wildfireburns in the background in Fort Davis, Texas, Sunday, April 10,2011. (AP Photo/Billy Marginot)

In this April 11, 2011 photo, Isaiah Martinez stands in therubble of his great-great-grandparents' home in Fort Davis, Texas.Powerful winds that sent walls of flame through parched ranchlandin and around the West Texas communities of Fort Davis and Midland,incinerating more than 60 homes during the weekend and killinglivestock and horses, took pity by directing the fires to largelyunpopulated open spaces north and east of the cities. (APPhoto/bigbendnow.com, Alberto Tomas Halpern)