A Dallas-area inferno damages 26 homes, with 9 a 'total loss'

CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 7/26/2022, 9:11 a.m.
What started as a grass fire in suburban Dallas turned into a devastating blaze, torching 10 to 20 acres and …
Flames spread to at least 14 homes in Balch Springs, about 15 miles southeast of Dallas. Mandatory Credit: KTVT

Originally Published: 26 JUL 22 08:39 ET

Updated: 26 JUL 22 08:56 ET

By Amy Simonson and Holly Yan, CNN

(CNN) -- What started as a grass fire in suburban Dallas turned into a devastating blaze, torching 10 to 20 acres and damaging more than two dozen homes, officials said.

The fire ripped through a neighborhood of Balch Springs Monday, after someone mowed an area of tall grass or brush, known as "brush hogging."

"The fire started from someone brush hogging in the field behind the homes," Balch Springs Fire Marshal Sean Davis told CNN on Monday. "He hit some debris in the field that caused a spark. The spark set the cut grass on fire."

Nearby residents were evacuated in the suburb about 15 miles southeast of Dallas.

Davis said the blaze damaged 26 homes. Nine are a "total loss," he said.

At least six fire departments helped extinguish the flames by Monday night, Davis said. No injuries were reported.

But the risk of a fast-moving blaze is not over.

According to the National Weather Service, parts of North Texas face "elevated fire danger" Tuesday, with temperatures expected to soar past 100 degrees.

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