Fire consumes area of Hidalgo County nearly the size of McAllen
SAN MANUEL - A massive blaze that ravaged more than 41 square miles of northern Hidalgo County on Tuesday and Wednesday started as a small fire sparked by a fallen power line.
The fire began about 4 p.m. Tuesday near Encino, in Brooks County. Within hours, 30 mph winds had driven the blaze more than 20 miles, spreading it south and then east through Hidalgo County, where it swept through an area nearly the size of the city of McAllen.
More than 500 people fled their homes as the inferno cut a black scar across Brooks and Hidalgo counties, scorching pastures and destroying at least four homes
More than 20 area fire agencies worked through Tuesday night to control the flames.
The blaze was the county's largest in what has been an unusually bad fire season - typically the dry months from winter to spring. No serious injuries were reported among the 300 emergency responders.
"The odds were against these guys with 30-mile-per-hour winds in the middle of the night," said Brooks County Judge Raul Ramirez. "Their efforts have really paid off in saving lives."
Wednesday afternoon, officials had the fire nearly 80 percent contained and had saved dozes of homes from the flames. Strong af-ternoon winds, however, were causing the fire to flare up in several areas that had already burned.
Officials expect the remnants of the fire will burn for several days.
Nearly 40-foot flames leaped across U.S. Highway 281 about 9 p.m. Tuesday as the fire spread southeast from where it started near Farm-to-Market Road 755 in Brooks County.
The highway was closed Tuesday night between the Hargill and Encino areas and reopened at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. As of press time, Farm-To-Market Road 1017 remained closed for several miles west of 281.
Tuesday evening, Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas declared a state of emergency and ordered a mandatory evacuation for about 500 people. Many of them later returned to their homes, surprised to find them undamaged.
Already this fire season, the Hidalgo County emergency management office has been tapped about 80 times to coordinate fire crews across the Rio Grande Valley.
Officials estimate the wildfires have cost the county more than $1 million.
"None of us have slowed down enough to put the pencil on paper" to come up with a precise dollar figure, said Tony Peña, the county's emergency management coordinator. The county hopes some of the cost will be offset by federal and state money.
President Bush on Saturday made federal aid available to 70 percent of Texas counties - including Hidalgo and Starr counties - to reimburse them for firefighting costs. However, those funds cannot be applied retroactively to cover the cost of previous fires, Salinas said.
The fire season is expected to continue into April, when officials expect more regular rainfall to occur.
A burn ban remains in effect across the Valley.
"Conditions have been perfect for a fire," Salinas said.
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Sean Gaffney covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434. Zack Quaintance covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4447.
