TAYLOR COUNTY, Texas — Firefighters, rescue teams and law enforcement agencies have been working nonstop since the Mesquite Heat fire began near View Tuesday, May 17.
“When you consider that this whole fire started with one small spark. Now we have 20 miles of hot perimeter that we're having to try to contain. This is going to go on for days,” Ecca Volunteer Fire Department Chief Gary Young said.
There's no word on exactly how this fire started. Approximately 2,000 acres of land is burning, according to Young, and fire officials say the wind and triple-digit heat are not helping with containment efforts.
Two women who lost their homes to the fire evacuated to View Baptist Church for shelter and say they are grateful to God they made it out in time.
“We did lose our homes. They came and the deputy came and knocked on our doors and they said, 'Get out, get out now.' Of course, we were all grabbing our animals. Luckily, we did get our animals. But when we went outside, the ash was already falling around us. We all did escape. However, our homes and everything's totally gone and burned out,” View resident Pearl Merritt said.
Young said at this time, the best thing for people to do is to avoid outdoor burning that could produce sparks for the next few days, as resources are extremely limited.
“Anybody that's thinking about doing anything outdoors that could start a fire, please, set aside any welding operations. Anything like that could start a fire and just be extra diligent. Watch your toe chains on your trailers. Make sure that your estimates are not dragging the ground to go through all of your spot checks every way you can and just try to avoid any additional response needed whatsoever at this point,” Young said.
The other woman who lost her home, Carol Casey, said the best advice she can offer anyone who unfortunately may be stuck in this type of situation is to be prepared to evacuate as soon as you see smoke.
“Get your stuff ready to go when you get out the door. I didn’t bring my purse or my bible I’ve had for over 40 years. I saw smoke and didn’t think it was coming my way. I didn’t think it would happen and it happened so fast but I’m glad me and my dogs were able to get out,” Casey said.
Wednesday afternoon, View VFD shared on its Facebook page the Mesquite Heat fire is 10% contained and the department has crews and personnel working hard to keep this fire from progressing any further.