Dallas ? President Bush issued a disaster declaration Wednesday for nine Texas counties where wildfires have destroyed homes and blackened thousands of acres of grassland over the past month.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said additional counties may be added to the list as damage surveys are completed elsewhere in north and west Texas.

Bush’s declaration orders federal aid to augment state and local recovery efforts. Individual assistance also is available.

Wildfires have killed three people and burned more than 250,000 acres and 340 homes in Texas since late December.

Bush declared a disaster Tuesday for 12 counties in Oklahoma, where wildfires have burned more than 380,000 acres since Nov. 1.