( CNN ) -- The oohs and aahs of the Independence Day holiday will be more subdued this year in Texas , where months of severe drought have led to restrictions on fireworks across much of the state . Not only are dozens of counties imposing restrictions on small-bore pyrotechnics like firecrackers and bottle rockets , but cities such as San Antonio , Austin , Amarillo and Lubbock have canceled municipal Fourth of July displays because of the tinderbox conditions . `` Temperatures are in the triple digits , and we 're not seeing any relief , '' Chris Angerer , deputy chief of operations for the Lubbock fire department , said Thursday . Wildfires have already reached into the city limits and destroyed three homes , and months without significant rain have left grasslands brown and dry , looking `` like the dead of winter . '' Canceling the fireworks shows is `` causing a little bit of a stir , '' said fire engineer Deborah Foster , a San Antonio fire spokeswoman . `` But it 's for the protection of the people of San Antonio . One errant spark and we could have a major grass fire . '' Why there 's no messing with Texas . Wildfires have scorched nearly 3.3 million acres of Texas since November , setting ablaze an area larger than Connecticut . Authorities have banned outdoor fires in 235 of the state 's 254 counties , a figure the Texas Forest Service called record-setting . Firefighters battle to contain Texas wildfires . Texas is the worst-hit of several states in a band of severe drought that stretches from Arizona to Florida . 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 . The `` exceptional '' category -- the most severe -- covers 72 % of the state , according to figures published Thursday . Only a small patch of northeast Texas , from roughly Fort Worth to the Oklahoma state line , has seen anything close to normal rainfall , the Nebraska service reports . On Louis Grissom 's farm in the Panhandle town of Seminole , the cotton is stunted and the peanut plants are undersized . Grissom and his fellow farmers are bracing for losses and making preparations to sell off livestock . `` Miles of pasture '' where cattle used to graze has been scorched , and one fire in early June left more than 300 cows dead , he said . `` Our cotton , we ca n't even water it , '' Grissom said . `` Our money crop is peanuts . It 's taking all the water we can pump just to irrigate our peanut crop , and our peanut crop is not even growing as fast as normal . '' At the beginning of the planting season , `` the water just would n't wet the ground , it was so dry . '' The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday declared disasters in 213 Texas counties due to the drought , along with seven parishes in neighboring Louisiana . The move comes after a loss of pasture , grain and forage crops of more than 30 % in the affected district and opens the door to federal support for farmers . The Texas agricultural extension service estimates that state farmers have suffered $ 62 million in losses , including buildings , crops , livestock -- even more than 4,100 miles of fences , which can cost $ 10,000 per mile to build , lost to fires . Authorities in Arizona and New Mexico have also been battling extensive wildfires , including one near Los Alamos , New Mexico , home to one of the U.S. nuclear laboratories that produced the atomic bomb . That fire has scorched more than 70,000 acres of land , but firefighters reported some success in limiting its spread Wednesday night . Firefighters scramble to contain blaze near nuclear lab . In the West Texas oil towns of Midland and Odessa , water is getting to be as valuable as crude oil . Reservoirs managed by the Colorado River Municipal Water District are running dry , forcing the cities to impose new restrictions on water use . The district has cut Midland 's water allocation by 20 % this year , and the city 's biggest water source , the O.H . Ivie Reservoir , is projected to run dry by December 2012 if current conditions continue , municipal spokeswoman Tasa Watts said . `` At this point , that 's the hand we 've been dealt , '' Watts told CNN . Effective Friday , residents can water lawns only twice a week , between dusk and midmorning . About 60 % of Midland 's water use goes to outdoor irrigation , Watts said . Violations carry a fine of up to $ 500 . In addition , residents are barred from refilling swimming pools , and restaurants will serve water to customers only upon request , she said . This year 's drought is part of a long-term trend dating back to the mid-1990s , but 2011 `` has been one of the worst that we 've had in this period , '' said Tom Spencer , head of the Predictive Services Department of the Texas Forest Service . The period from October 2010 through May is one of the three driest since 1895 , he said . `` Any rain would be good for temporary relief , '' Spencer said . `` But right now , we need a weather pattern change or some tropical storms or tropical events to break this drought . More than likely it 's not going to happen until after the summer . '' In April , Gov . Rick Perry called on `` Texans of all faiths and traditions '' to pray for rain . But the state remains parched -- and though Tropical Storm Arlene came ashore in eastern Mexico on Thursday , the storm is unlikely to help , Spencer said . `` There 's a high-pressure system on top of us , steering rain events around the state , '' Spencer said . For Grissom , that means cotton yields of maybe one-fifth what he grew a few years ago and not enough hay for his cows . With harvest time barely three months away , he and his fellow farmers are running out of time . `` God 's in control . I hope that he 'll see fit that we get some rain , '' he said . CNN 's Dave Alsup contributed to this report .
A record-breaking drought has gripped more than 90 % of Texas . Wildfires have scorched nearly 3.3 million Texas acres since November . Comment: Cities are imposing water restrictions as reservoirs run dry .