Wildfires Destroy Houses, Barns

Wildfires swept through a wide stretch of Kanakakee County, destroying 10 houses and seven mobile homes on Thursday, fire officials reported. There were no serious injuries.

Firefighters rescued a dozen children and elderly people from homes surrounded by flames, said William Millar, chief of the Pembroke Township Fire District.

The homes and 20 additional barns and other outbuildings were burned to the ground, he said.

Hopkins Park is about 50 miles south of downtown Chicago.