BALCH SPRINGS — A large grass fire swept through a Balch Springs neighborhood Monday afternoon, burning 26 homes — destroying nine of them — and leaving dozens homeless.
The fire started while workers were mowing a nearby field at the northwest corner of Interstate 20 and South Belt Line Road, according to Balch Springs Fire Chief Sean Davis, although officials are still investigating whether anyone was to blame. A number of houses along Broadview Drive, not far from Mackey Elementary School, caught fire. By Monday evening, the grass fire was under control and the house fires were extinguished. No one was injured and officials said they were investigating whether anyone was at fault.
Some neighborhood residents tried to put out the fire with garden hoses. Others had only minutes to get out of their homes, leaving everything behind.
“I lost everything. Just everything,” said home owner Miguel Quinones, who has lived in the house with his wife for almost 14 years. He said he had just bought a new truck that had caught fire in the garage.
The fire in Balch Springs, a town of about 25,000 people southeast of Dallas, comes as firefighters in North Texas battle fires that have destroyed dozens of homes as drought and unusually high temperatures create dangerous conditions. The fire chief said the Balch Springs field tends to have several fires a year that are put out quickly.
“It happens in a lot of places, just people cutting hay or grass or something, and they cut something they didn’t see and it starts a fire and then it travels like crazy,” Davis said.
The authorities do not have an exact number of the displaced. They will provide an update at 9am on Tuesday to let residents know when they can return.
“We are in unique weather conditions right now,” with hot weather and dry land.
Wanda Blanchett-Ware said she barely had time to wake her son Jacoby Ogunyi and her two dogs, Bella and Lola, to get out of their Balch Springs house as the fire approached.
Her son works during the day and was asleep when the police knocked on the door. She said she went and hit his window.
“Honey, there’s a fire, please get up!” she said, waking him up.
Blanchett-Ware said she saw her neighbors watering their lawns, but the fire was too strong.
“Then the wind came and blew the fire all over the street,” she said.
As the fire spread, the firefighter called for the evacuation of all homes and structures on Broadview Drive and Bell Manor Court, which also back up to the field where the grass fire started.
Balch Springs City Manager Susan Clouse said the city is working with the Red Cross to set up an overnight shelter at a city recreation center, and some local hotels will house residents and their pets for longer periods of time. The Red Cross will help displaced residents get essentials, find temporary housing and start paperwork for insurance. Residents whose homes were not damaged can remain in them.
“Right now we don’t know where we’re going to spend the night tonight,” said Roberto Pinero, whose home of 13 years, which he had recently remodeled, was destroyed. He said his son called him about the fire and “when I went and opened the back door, the fire hit my face and I brought my family out.”
Fire crews from Dallas and other nearby cities assisted Balch Springs crews.
Residents said there have been several fires in the area recently. Some expressed concern that the grass in the field where the fire started had been allowed to grow too tall.
“That area has been undeveloped for so long that it’s like kindling in there,” said Joe Perez, a homeowner who lives about four houses from the fire.
Data from the Dallas Central Appraisal District shows the homes were built around 2005 and are valued in the mid-$200,000s.
Michael Jaramillo was at work when he received a call that his home was on fire. It was among the destroyed houses.
“It’s just sad. I don’t really care about the stuff, all the clothes and stuff,” he said. “I think about the things I can’t get back, the pictures of my siblings and all that.”
Resident Wendy Repond was scouring the neighborhood Monday afternoon for her cat, Miss Kitty. Reppond said she was able to grab her two dogs and the bird, but didn’t have time to find the birdcage.
“Third house down from me, that one’s gone,” she said. “I can’t find my cat. They won’t let me back in to find my cat.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Add Comment