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The city has repeatedly called for the grass to be cut ahead of the fire that scorched homes in Balch Springs
BALCH SPRINGS – Owners of a field in Balch Springs have been repeatedly asked to mow the grass where a fire broke out on Monday and destroyed a row of houses.
Homeowners have received two city code enforcement requests in the past few months, followed by a court subpoena, Balch Springs Fire Marshal Sean Davis said Tuesday. That’s why workers were mowing the field at the corner of Interstate 20 and Belt Line Road.
The fire started when a mower blade hit something, possibly metal or concrete, and created a spark that ignited the grass, Davis said. The flames spread to a row of nearby houses, damaging 26 houses and leaving nine of them beyond repair.
Executives from Mountain Express, the company that owns the property, were not available for comment.
“We haven’t seen anything of this magnitude for the town of Balch Springs,” Davis said.
Heat and drought have made North Texas a hotbed for fires this year, and firefighters are battling blazes in the area that have destroyed dozens of homes. The field where Monday’s blaze started sees a few fires a year, but they’re usually put out quickly, Davis said.
Workers who mowed the field piled the dead grass against a fence “for months or maybe years,” David said. It may not have caused the fire, he said, “but it certainly did not alleviate the situation.”
No one was injured in the fire. Property damage is estimated at around $6.06 million, Balch Springs Fire Chief Eric Neal told reporters. The ground will remain as is for the time being while the fire department determines how to deal with any lingering fire risk before the grass is cut again.
Miguel and Patricia Quinonez were leaving the city’s recreation center on Tuesday, disappointed by the help available from the Red Cross. They were looking for clothes because they hadn’t changed since Monday and had lost everything in the fire. The Red Cross post offered snacks and drinks, but no clothing.
“They have nothing to offer,” said Miguel Quinonez.
Help from the Red Cross, other agencies
A Red Cross worker said no one stayed in his shelter on Monday evening, but residents passed through all day Tuesday. The agency will begin offering residents short-term financial assistance, disaster program manager Jen Edwards said.
The Quinonezes stayed at a hotel on Monday night. They were grateful that Miguel had a truck that he uses for work and that they can use to get around. He was due to meet with the insurance company today about the damage to their home. The couple were heading to the Opal J. Smith Food Pantry, which is collecting donations of clothing and food for those in need because of the fire.
At the pantry, six volunteers worked to sort through a room full of clothes that were donated on Tuesday. Among the donations were piles of children’s shirts and clothes, a pile of handbags, a collection of sneakers. In the next room were basic necessities such as diapers, toiletries, food and school supplies.
“This community has always rallied around a disaster to help other community members not only survive, but thrive,” said Teresa Jackson, CEO of Sharing Life, the Mesquite-based charity that runs the food bank.
Sharing Life gets information from the city about the specific needs of families, including clothing sizes, said community engagement associate Maria Mills. The charity needs donations of new underwear and socks, diapers, clothes, food and money. Go to sharinglifeoutreach.org for information.
Financial contributions will help the agency house displaced residents in hotels, Jackson said.
On Tuesday, Andre Camp was at the recreation center to get clothes and other aid after his house was destroyed in the fire.
He first learned of the danger on Monday afternoon when a friend texted him: “Grass fire near you.” Camp was at work, but he received updates over the phone: his neighbor got his son and dog out of the house, then tried to water the garden. The fence and the shed were on fire, his sister told him. By the time Camp returned home 45 minutes after the first text message, the house he had lived in since 2006 was on fire.
“It’s all gone, man,” he said. Camp, his wife and four children live with his mother. Colleagues, friends and family sent in financial support, and her son’s baseball coach started a GoFundMe.
A family mourns their bulldog
On Tuesday in the neighborhood, the family of Roberto Pinero mourned their 4-year-old English bulldog, Torrero, who did not come out of the burning house. Pinero lives with his wife, two children and three grandchildren. The family got out of their house before it was destroyed, but things happened so fast they couldn’t get the dog back. The children were crying about the animal.
“We can get a new home, but the dog we can’t replace,” Pinero said, as the family tried to salvage what they could on Tuesday.
On Monday night, Pinero put his family in an Airbnb and returned to watch his home, to make sure no one was taking his remaining belongings.
Wendy Reppond, who hours after the fire was looking for her missing cat Miss Kitty, said she returned home on Monday evening to find only her fence and garden had been damaged. And she found Miss Kitty hiding under a bed.
A house two doors down from Reppond’s was destroyed.
“We were one of the lucky ones,” she said. “I’m going to fix my fence. People who have lost everything, they need more help.
She and other residents said they believed the grass in the field had contributed to the scale of the disaster.
“It certainly wouldn’t have spread so quickly if the grass hadn’t been so long,” she said.
Headache the next day
Misty Hightower was inside her mother’s house when it caught fire. She has a power of attorney for her mother and she returned to the charred site on Tuesday to find medicine her family needed.
She says she is frustrated with the plethora of information, which has been difficult to navigate.
“It is by far not an easy or quick process because there is so much information that none of it is correct,” she said. “It’s inappropriate. Go here, go here, go here, and then you’ve been chasing after something all day.
Hightower quickly got her family members out of their burning home on Monday, but said she needed resources, especially for her bedridden 85-year-old grandmother.
“We need a hospital bed, and they tell us, ‘We have your information,'” she said. “What’s that supposed to do?” »
She also said her mother, Sandra Johnson-Williams, fainted after calling for help at the Red Cross station. Hightower thinks it was because the recreation center was too hot. Highland hosted her displaced family members at her home on Monday evening. On Tuesday, she had to deal with insurance agents and piles of debris.
“It’s been very frustrating,” she said.
Search for fire risks
Davis said code enforcement crews were scanning fields and other areas for fire hazards. People mowing tall grass should have a spotter with them to look for fires, he said.
Tartisha Hill, a former Balch Springs City Council member, has lived in the neighborhood for 17 years and said most of the homes in the area have been built since she moved there.
“We saw all these houses go up,” she said. “Young families, young couples.”
She added: “We don’t all talk, but we all know who lives where.”
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