Crews work to control wildfires in drought-ravaged South

Fire crews made progress Monday in Virginia against brush fires that had been fanned by gale-force winds, officials said. Gov. Tim Kaine declared a state of emergency Sunday night after hundreds of fires broke out across western and central Virginia. The wind accompanied a strong cold front that sent temperatures into the teens. Officials said a few houses had been lost and no injuries were reported. Shelters were opened near residential areas threatened by the fires.


_{Firefighters hose down a house Sunday in Horry County, South Carolina.}

Similar fires flared up in the Carolinas. CNN affiliates reported some of the blazes started when the wind brought power lines into contact with tinder-dry trees. The high winds had faded by Monday morning, but a spokesman for the Virginia governor's office said that fires were still burning in several areas. Spokesman Gordon Hickey said some homes were lost. "I don't think anyone has been injured," he said.


_{Firefighters work in the smoldering remains of a business in Conway, South Carolina, on Sunday.}

As of Monday morning, Bob Spieldenner, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, said, We don't think there are more than 100 to 200 fires statewide. He said that "about a dozen houses were damaged that we know of," with a few likely to be declared a complete loss. State officials were meeting Monday to tally property damage, the number of acres affected and the status of remaining fires.


_{A business in Conway burns after wildfires swept through the area Sunday.}

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