what to know
- The fire has destroyed nine homes and possibly damaged a dozen more.
- No residents or firefighters were injured.
- The fire is believed to have started after the mowers hit rocks, sending sparks that set the grass on fire. Workers reported the fire to the Balch Springs Fire Department.
A large grass fire spread through a Balch Springs neighborhood Monday afternoon, destroying at least nine homes and possibly damaging up to a dozen others, officials say.
The fire is believed to have started when workers struck debris while mowing a large field at the northwest corner of Interstate 20 and South Belt Line Road. The fire then spread to an adjacent neighborhood where it first burned fences and then spread to homes along the 14700 block of Broadview Drive.
Balch Springs Fire Marshal Shawn Davis told NBC 5 a work crew reported the fire and his department responded with its only brush truck. Davis said the fire department only has eight firefighters working during the day and has received help from several nearby departments.
Davis said there were 14 structures that had confirmed fire damage and there could be as many as 20 with some type of damage.
From the Texas Sky Ranger it appears that nine homes were completely destroyed by the fires.
Firefighters evacuated a number of homes along Broadview Drive and Bell Manor Court, not far from Mackey Elementary School, when a number of homes caught fire.
No injuries have been reported.
At least nine homes were destroyed and nearly a dozen others were damaged after a grass fire spread through a Balch Springs neighborhood on Monday, July 25, 2022.
The American Red Cross is working with Balch Springs Emergency Management to make arrangements for families displaced by the fire. The Balch Springs Recreation Center will be open and available to those affected by the fire.
Firefighters with several area departments are assisting Balch Springs in the fight, including Dallas, Mesquite, Sunnyvale, Seagoville and Dallas County.
Please check back and refresh this page for the latest information. NBC 5’s Meredith Yeomans and Telemundo 39’s Ken Kalthoff and Olivia Martinez contributed to this report.