Brad , Texas ( CNN ) -- High winds whipped up a spreading wildfire in northern Texas on Wednesday as firefighters battled several blazes across the tinder-dry state . A raging grass fire in Oklahoma City , meanwhile , claimed several structures , including a barn , affiliate KFOR reported . Homes in the area were evacuated . The 101 Ranch fire in Palo Pinto County grew to about 7,500 acres on Wednesday afternoon , and it was unclear how much had been contained , the Texas Forest Service reported . The fire was centered around the south side of Possum Kingdom Lake outside Brad , about 50 miles west of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area . Observers on the opposite shore were forced to pull back when winds around 20 mph carried embers across the lake . The fire had destroyed at least 39 homes , according to the Forest Service , and another 125 households were evacuated . Firefighters were getting support from aerial tankers and helicopters that were dropping water on the blaze . Nine RVs were burned . On Wednesday morning , firefighters reported they had `` hooked the heel '' of the fire , which means they established an anchor from which they can begin extending lines along its edge . The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear . Texas is up against its worst fire season in state history , according to officials . A record 3.5 million acres have burned since the start of the season last November as hot and dry weather , coupled with a historic drought , have made conditions ripe for rapid fire growth . Firefighters are now battling a total of nine wildfires , which have consumed about 16,000 acres , the Forest Service says . Jerry and Silvia Overton were among the residents who were forced to flee as the 101 Ranch fire closed in on their homes . The fire `` got away '' from the firefighters , and `` the only escape route we had at that time was the marina , '' Jerry Overton said . He and his wife got on their boat , let others without boats onboard , and watched the thick , black smoke for a bit before going across the lake to the harbor . On Wednesday , he inspected the house and saw that outside of some possible smoke damage , it appeared unharmed . Yet the experience of evacuating -- the second time they had to do so since April -- was a frightening one . `` The first time back in April ( was ) scary , but this was horrific , '' Silvia Overton said . `` This time I really felt we could lose everything . '' `` There 's still a lot of work going on and a lot of stuff that 's being threatened and they are doing the best they can to protect structures , '' said John Nichols with the Texas Forest Service . Boats such as the Overtons ' were used to ferry some evacuees across Possum Kingdom Lake , he said . `` I do n't think I have seen it this bad anywhere , '' Nichols said . `` Walking across somebody 's yard that just crackles under your feet because the grass is so dry . It 's just a tough , tough situation . '' Firefighters in Huntsville , in east Texas , battled a 100-acre fire . Two structures were lost and 10 homes were threatened . Texas and Oklahoma are the worst-hit of several states in a band of severe drought that stretches from Arizona to sections of the East Coast . More than 90 % of the state is suffering from `` extreme '' or `` exceptional '' drought conditions , according to the U.S. Drought Monitor at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln . CNN 's Jim Spellman , Ed Payne , Dave Alsup , John Fricke and Nick Valencia contributed to this report .
NEW : Grass fire burns in Oklahoma City . 7,500 acres have burned in Palo Pinto County , Texas . High winds have whipped up the blaze west of Dallas-Fort Worth . Texas is up against the worst fire season in its history .