DALLAS (AP) Conditions were expected to be ripe for wildfires in much of West Texas and the Panhandle on Monday, with gusty winds and low humidity promising little relief for firefighters.

And the strong winds and near-zero relative humidity readings are expected to last through Wednesday, said Lone Star State Incident Commander Gary Bennett.

"We have extremely critical fire weather conditions for the next several days, and that will hamper containment efforts," he said.

The National Weather Service has placed portions of Texas west of a line running roughly from Wichita Falls southwest to the border city of Del Rio under a "red flag warning" for critical fire conditions.

Dry, hot weather and strong winds fueled wildfires in parts of West Texas on Sunday, prompting evacuations and threatening dozens of homes.

The so-called Gage Holland fire west of Alpine prompted Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson to evacuate a subdivision northwest of the city Sunday afternoon. U.S. 67/90 was closed for several hours between Alpine and Marfa.

That fire erupted about Sunday afternoon near where U.S. 67/90 crosses the Brewster-Presidio county line at Paisano Pass, said Ed Brown, spokesman for the Trans-Pecos firefighting team.

Southwest winds of 10 to 15 mph and relative humidity readings of 2 percent carried the flames toward Alpine, with juniper trees fueling 50-foot-tall flames. Three C-130 aircraft and smaller air tankers assisted the firefighting effort, but the fire had scorched 3,500 acres by nightfall, when Brown said it was 10 percent contained.

The cause of the fire was not yet known, Brown said.

Meanwhile, firefighters battled a 35,000-acre fire in Dickens County about 70 miles east of Lubbock, where winds gusted to 30 mph with humidity readings of 1 percent and temperatures approaching 100 degrees.

Two separate fires ignited by Friday lightning strikes merged into a single complex late Saturday. The fire was 15 percent contained as of nightfall Sunday, said Alex Carfrae, spokesman for the Lone Star fire management team.

BREWSTER COUNTY A grassfire has sparked up near Alpine.

Texas Forest spokesperson Ed Brown said the Gage Holland fire has burned about 3,500 acres and is about 10 percent contained. The fire is located about half a mile north of the Paisano Pass and about 2 miles west of Alpine. The fire started near a roadside pull off on U.S. Highway 90 and U.S. Highway 67. Officials are still looking into the cause of the fire.

A Brewster County dispatcher said as of 8:15 p.m., evacuations have been lifted in all areas except for the Sunny Glen neighborhood. A shelter has been set up for evacuees at the Alpine Civic Center.

McDonald said resources are being dedicated to the fire including air attack.

“It’s such a dynamic situation, but we’re moving people into position,” McDonald said.

Brewster County officials said Highway 90 from the Presidio County line to Alpine is closed.

Alpine’s local radio station KALP 92.7 is giving ongoing updates about evacuations and the status of the fire. KALP said one of the primary concerns for firefighters is keeping the fire away from the Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport.