Las Milpas residents help firefighters battle wildfire

PHARR — The wildfire blazed toward Juan Hinojosa's house and more than a dozen other Las Milpas residences Wednesday afternoon.

The flames came within a few feet as the 14-year-old and three of his buddies helped firemen put down the flames.

"We just got the hose and we started to put the fire out," the teen said.

Other neighbors sprayed their garden hoses toward the flames, he said. Eventually, the firefighters told the quartet of boys to head to the street for safety.

The wildfire burned about 44 acres of an unoccupied field along a canal between East St. Anne Drive and Las Milpas Road, said Pharr Assistant Fire Chief Jacob Salinas.

No structures were damaged and no major injuries were reported, he said.

Fire departments from Alamo, Edinburg and San Juan aided Pharr firefighters along with the neighborhood residents as the wildfire raged beneath a blistering sun and the outside temperature topped 100 degrees. Crews brought the blaze under control about 5 p.m. Wednesday.

"If you have high winds and high temperatures - everything being dry - the fire will travel faster," Salinas said.

Maria Guerra, 31, said she was "so scared" as she called the fire department and watched the smoke and flames close in on her neighborhood.

"We did think something like that would happen," Guerra said of the wildfire, adding that she wants someone to remove the dry, dead brush that flanks the south side of her neighborhood. "We got the water hose and spread it all over.

"You could hear it."

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Jared Taylor covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.