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Passersby were seen helping herd cattle as flames creeped nearby in Benbrook.

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Firefighters had to sit by as some homes burned in Parker County because they ran out of water.

NORTH TEXAS - As strong winds fueled wildfires across North Texas late Tuesday afternoon, Governor Rick Perry activated the state's Emergency Operations Center.

Winds reached speeds up to 60 mph in some areas, which provided plenty of fuel for the flames that burned acres across North Texas and destroyed dozens of homes.

WFAA-TV's Chief Meteorologist Pete Delkus said while winds won't be as strong Wednesday, the winds would still be blowing hard, which has prompted the National Weather Service to issue a Red Flag Warning for all of North Texas.

A wind advisory was also issued Wednesday for areas west and to the north of Fort Worth. In that area, winds were expected to reach 40 mph. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, winds were expected to range from 15 mph to 35 mph.

The problems were widespread, including dust storms, flight delays, traffic delays and power outages.

Firefighters fought an-out-of-control fire in Reno. Officials said the Parker County fire was contained before 5 p.m. to about 400 acres. While firefighters got the fire under control, they continued to work on hot spots late into the night.

About 14 homes were hit by the fire. Authorities said dozens of families, and horses and other animals, were evacuated from the area.

A lack of water contributed to the fire problem, said WFAA-TV's Craig Civale.

"Water was a huge problem," he said. "We've seen areas where cement trucks were brought in from surrounding areas to bring additional water. We've seen areas where fire trucks simply ran out of water, tanker trucks ran out of water, and had to stop battling the blazes at these homes and pretty much watch them burn down until more water came to the area."

Firefighters also battled a blaze that covered about 150 acres between I-20 and the Northwest side of Benbrook Lake. Shortly after 5 p.m., firefighters from Fort Worth and Benbrook, which is in the southwestern corner of Tarrant County, had just about gotten the fire under control.

While it didn't threaten any homes in the immediate area, it did creep dangerously close to a natural well gas site. It also burned close to cattle on the land. Passersby helped herd some of the cows to safety.

No homes were damaged from the fire. However, smoke along I-20 did lead to a crash that resulted in injuries.

In an attempt to halt additional fires due to dry grass in the area, bulldozers dug trenches near the Whitestone Heights neighborhood in Benbrook.

Fire officials temporarily closed Highway 377 from FM 2871 on the north to FM 1187 on the south.

Cattle and horses were removed from the area. Some students have been kept at school. Schools affected include Westpark Elementary School, Leonard 6th Grade Center, Leonard Middle School and Western Hills High School. None of the schools are threatened.

Meanwhile, Governor Perry's office said military aircraft will help fight the fires.

Officials say two CH47 Chinook Helicopters are on standby in Grand Prairie, ready to drop water on the fires. Crews were waiting for a break in the wind before taking off.

High winds that kicked up early Tuesday morning in Wise County led to hundreds of scorched acres and mores than a dozen lost homes.

"This is unbelievable man," said Chad Fields of Paradise, which was hit hard by the fires. "It's like the Armageddon."

Parts of Paradise were sealed off and cattle released.

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Homeowners stood and watch as homes were overtaken by the quick moving fire in Paradise.

WFAA-TV reporter Darla Miles described the Paradise as "a state of chaos" in the midst of the high winds and fires. Around 11 a.m., a large plume of black thick smoke could be seen and smelled at least 20 miles away. Highway 114 was closed down between 51 and 444, and evacuated homeowners sat on the side of the road watching the situation.

"I'm stressed," said Sharolyn Holder, a homeowner in the area. "My house is sitting back there with fire all around it. My son's house has already burned some. It's so just stressful." Fields said pondering the possible cause of the fire.

Crews zoomed back and forth to refill a water tanker and tackle hot spots. Armed with fire extinguishers, desperate homeowners also tried to pitch in with fire extinguishers. Some simply tossed dirt on hot spots.

Three-hundred acres were torched by the fires and 32 structures destroyed. Of those 32 structures, 16 of those were homes.

"The fire department got us all out of the house, all of us except my little dog," said Bobby Stump, whose home was among those burned. "And later, a deputy went back into the house and got the dog. He's okay."

Stump said this was the third time his home was destroyed by a fire.

"We want to know if it was somebody who thumped a cigarette out, or if somebody was burning fire or burning trash," Fields said.

While investigators are still unsure of the cause, the fire marshal said he believes it may have ignited after a cigarette was tossed out the window of a car.

There were no injuries in the Wise County fire, and homeowners were allowed to return home early Tuesday evening. Red Cross is on the scene to help victims of the fire.

Collin County issued a burn ban around 5:20 p.m. in response to the winds and fire dangers.

Burn bans, which prohibited any outdoor burning, was issued for Celina, Fairview, Wylie, Weston, McKinney, CR 830 near CR 1106 and Lucas.

"A county declaration of disaster has also taken effect due to the fires," read a statement released by Collin County. "The declaration triggers access to additional federal and state resources."

Plano firefighters were contending with small, wind-stoked grass fires in various parts of the city, said Peggy Harrell, a fire department spokeswoman.

North of Plano in Anna, a semi-trailer reportedly was overturned on Central Expressway because of high wind.

At the height of Tuesday's windy weather, more than 70,000 Oncor customers lost power across the North Texas area. As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, there were still about 5,000 without power.

The majority of outages were in Dallas. On lower Greenville, businesses lost power, including the Whole Foods Market.

Oncor said they expect to have most customers' power back on by midnight.

Extra police patrols were stationed to block off downed power lines. Officers also drove through areas in Dallas where 911 service was not available because of the downed power lines.

In Denton County, people were hit by downed lines and sparked fires. Workers in Carrollton spent a large chunk of their day clearing debris, including one huge tree that was pulled from its roots.

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A large tree fell onto a residential street after winds pulled it from its roots.

"I'm thankful it didn't hit my house [and] fell on the street," said resident Dean Melton of the large tree.

Denton firefighters had their work cut out for them too, working several grass fires that led to several evacuations. Embers burned just 15 feet away from a multi-million dollar lumberyard.

"If it did decide to jump into the yard, we wanted to make sure everyone was away from here," said John Lamb, co-manager of 84 Lumber.

A fire burnt just east of downtown Fort Worth near the I-30 earlier Tuesday.

Wind may have also played a part in an early morning fire in Dallas.

A barn on Paramount Avenue in Dallas caught fire just after 5:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. The roof collapsed, but News 8 was told there were no people or animals inside. Investigators are searching for the cause of the fire.

The wind pushed back some flight times at D/FW Airport, which rippled delays across the country.

The airport went from using seven runways to three to give planes more room for safety. That caused 15 to 20 minute delays since outgoing flights had to wait in longer lines. Some incoming flights had to circle because the winds were just too strong to land.

WFAA-TV's Darla Miles, Craig Civale, Jim Douglas, Debbie Denmon and Pete Delkus and WFAA.com's Lucy Jones and Marjorie Owens and The Dallas Morning News contributed to this report.