A large grass fire spread into a Balch Springs neighborhood Monday afternoon destroying at least nine homes and possibly damaging up to dozen others, officials say.

By Tuesday morning, hot spots that burned overnight still remained in the area. Downed power lines also presented issues for residents in the neighborhood.

The fire is believed to have started when workers struck debris while mowing a large field on the northwest corner of Interstate 20 and South Belt Line Road. The fire then spread into an adjacent neighborhood where it first burned fences and then spread to homes along the 14700 block of Broadview Drive.

According to Balch Springs Fire Chief Eric Neil,

Fire officials responded to the grass fire at 3:17 p.m. on Monday, Balch Springs Fire Chief Eric Neil said in a press conference.

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Balch Springs Officials Give Update on Homes Damaged by Grassfire

Fire officials responded to a grass fire at 3:17 p.m. on Monday. Balch Springs Fire Chief Eric Neil said by Tuesday morning, 26 homes were damaged, nine of which were deemed total losses.

Balch Springs Fire Marshal Sean Davis told NBC 5 the fire crew responded with their one and only brush truck. Davis said the fire department only has eight firefighters working during the day and has received assistance from a number of nearby departments.

The winds, which were between 15 and 20 miles per hour, contributed to the spread of the fire and allowed three acres of land to be burned on Monday.

Davis said on Monday there were 14 structures to have confirmed fire damage and that there may be as many as 20 with some kind of damage.

By Tuesday morning, Chief Neil said 26 homes were damaged, nine of which were deemed total losses.

Neil said in a press conference on Tuesday that the total value of the property lost in the fire was approximately $6,056,300.

Fire officials evacuated a string of homes along Broadview Drive and Bell Manor Court, not far from Mackey Elementary School, as a string of homes caught fire.

No injuries have been reported.

The American Red Cross is working with Balch Springs Emergency Management to make arrangements for the families displaced by the fire. The Balch Springs Recreation Center will be open and available for those impacted by the fire.

Chief Neil said donations are asked to go to Opal J. Smith Food Pantry.

Firefighters with a number of area departments are assisting Balch Springs in the fight including Dallas, Mesquite, Sunnyvale, Seagoville and Dallas County.

Check back and refresh this page for the latest information. NBC 5's Meredith Yeomans and Ken Kalthoff and Telemundo 39s Olivia Martinez contributed to this report.

Check back and refresh this article for the latest update.

The fire started in a nearby field and spread quickly to homes at Interstate 20 and South Beltline Road.

BALCH SPRINGS, Texas — A large grass fire in Balch Springs quickly spread and destroyed at least nine homes and damaged 17 more, according to city officials.

The fire happened Monday afternoon near the intersection of Interstate 20 and South Beltline Road near the Spring Ridge neighborhood.

An aerial view of the fire showed flames spreading through backyards and homes catching fire. Officials say at least 26 homes were affected by the fire.

It's believed the fire started after crews cutting grass on the nearby field may have struck a metal object, causing sparks, according to the Balch Springs city manager.

"From what we understand, it was a spark from the mowers and it just spread to the houses," city manager Susan Cluse said.

Cluse said she could see the thick, black smoke from city hall.

"When I called the fire chief and said did you know there's a fire and he said, 'yes ma'am everyone is on their way," Cluse said.

The fire was contained by 7 p.m., but crews will remain in the area into Tuesday morning to monitor hot spots.

There were no injuries reported, but an unknown number of residents were displaced.

Affected residents can meet with the American Red Cross at the Balch Springs Recreation Center at 4372 Shepherd Lane. Those residents can also call 972-557-6090 for more information.

Also if you would like to help those affected, please direct all donations to the Opal J. Smith Food Pantry located at 2919 Balch Springs Road. The contact number is 972-895-3117. Officials say the greatest need in monetary donations.

Israel Medina, who lives in the neighborhood, told WFAA he smelled something burning in the afternoon and ran outside his home, only to see darkness due to the smoke.

"It was pretty bad. I had to wear a mask because [the smoke] was getting to me. I had to drink a lot of water, I was having a hard time breathing," Medina said.

"I just saw families just grabbing their things and running out their door and just leaving," he said about the affected residents.

BALCH SPRINGS, Texas - More than two dozen homes were either damaged or destroyed after a wildfire spread into a Balch Springs neighborhood.

The city fire marshal says the Monday fire was accidental and was sparked by a crew mowing a nearby field near I-20 and Beltline Road.

The city of Balch Springs only has about eight firefighters working on any given day. There just wasn't enough of them to stop the fire from spreading so fast.

In all, 26 homes were damaged and nine were destroyed. It quickly grew out of control.

People living in the neighborhood described a chaotic scene, watching what started as a grass fire grow, threatening their community and destroy multiple homes.

"I could barely breathe or see," recalled Ashley Anderson. "And I went in the house and got my kids. We ran out."

Multiple homes destroyed in Balch Springs grass fire

Multiple homes destroyed in Balch Springs grass fire

Balch Springs Fire Marshal Sean Davis talks to FOX 4 about the wildfires burning in Balch Springs

"I have been here for over 20 years and have never seen anything like this," said Balch Springs Fire Marshal Sean Davis.

The fire started just before 4 p.m. Crews got there quick to try and put it out, but gusty winds spread the fire north right into a neighborhood.

Rachel, who didn’t want to share her last name, says her home is a loss.

"I t was out. The fire in the backyard was completely done," she said. "And then it just started catching other house on fire."

But some of her neighbors’ homes were spared.

Multiple homes burn in Balch Springs grass fire

Multiple homes burn in Balch Springs grass fire

Fox 4 reporter Shaun Rabb reports from Balch Springs where 14+ homes burned in a fire

Sebastian Green rushed home from work to start spraying water on his lawn.

"The flames I am scared is going to jump over and cause a grass fire. So I am just trying to keep the ground moist," he said.

Sebastian’s wife, Jonelle Green, was home as the fire approached their neighborhood.

"First, we started smelling smoke and my son came out and it was so dark out here. The wind was blowing and blowing," she said.

Anderson says she first saw the fire from the road and then realized it was in her neighborhood.

"They said water the lawns to keep a barrier. I did that," she said.

With a heat advisory in place and temperatures above 100 degrees, firefighters had to take multiple breaks and work in shifts to stay hydrated while battling the flames.

The Red Cross is assisting families impacted by the fire at a nearby rec center.

Jordan Gomez’s family lost everything. The 17-year-old just barely got out of his home before it was engulfed in flames. He’s been living there with his parents and two siblings. But right now, their home of more than a decade is a total loss.

Balch Springs teen home alone during fire got out before it hit house

Balch Springs teen home alone during fire got out before it hit house

A teenager whose family lost everything says he just barely got out of his home before it went up in flames.

Jordan says at first he saw smoke in his backyard, but he didn’t think much of it. He thought someone was having a barbeque. But minutes later, he heard a knock on his door and was told to get out. He grabbed his family’s dog and left. He says he was moments away from taking a shower. Had he done that, he may not have heard the door. And judging by how fast the flames spread, he’s unsure if he would’ve made it out.

"And then I walked outside, and I’d seen hella smoke," he recalled. "I went back inside. Then minutes later, the cops came. They were like, ‘You got to go outside.’ And I was like alright."

A shelter has been set up at the city's recreation center for people who have been displaced. Red Cross has also been set up there. They will be there for a couple of days.

BALCH SPRINGS, Texas - Two weeks ago, three dozen Balch Springs families watched their homes burn. Nine of them burned to the ground.

Investigators say a mowing crew on July 25 accidentally started a grass fire that spread to their neighborhood.

Dozens of houses burned, and there are now many students who are already behind on the first day of school.

We know several families on this street have children who are starting this new school year with nothing.

Mesquite ISD is trying to make sure the students have some sense of normalcy in the middle of a disaster.

Each visit to his old home is harder than the last for Miguel Quinonez. A pile of debris is all that’s left of his Balch Springs home he bought 14 years ago. It’s the same year his daughter was born.

"It’s a lot of emotions, especially my daughter. She doesn’t want to go to school," he said.

Balch Springs fire victims get helping hand from local organizations

Quinonez’s daughter, Kayla, starts high school Tuesday morning. The 14-year-old will be a freshman at Horn High School in Mesquite, starting her high school years with nothing.

Quinonez admits his daughter is taking it the hardest.

"It’s really painful for her, especially since she was inside the house with my grandson. She had to run away so fast," he said.

On July 25, a grass fire off Interstate 20 in Balch Springs spread to a nearby subdivision. In all, 26 homes were damaged. At least nine are a total loss.

No one was injured, but dozens of families were displaced.

For the last two weeks, some families — like the Quinonez family — are living out of hotel rooms with the first day of school already here.

Jennifer Mobley is the director of student support for Mesquite ISD. She says there are 38 students enrolled in the district who have been affected.

"We are going to love on them first, and then we are going to teach them," she said. "When those kids walk through the door, I don’t want anyone to know they are any different."

School year begins for victims of Balch Springs fire

School year begins for victims of Balch Springs fire

Mesquite ISD is trying to make sure the students have some sense of normalcy in the middle of a disaster. Two weeks ago, three dozen Balch Springs families watched their homes burn. Nine of them burned to the ground.

Mobley watched the massive fire on television and knew students from her district would be affected.

Immediately, Mesquite set up a monetary donation link that’s already raised more than $10,000.

The district is also donating school uniforms from the family support center.

"But we have probably bought out our Walmart for the past three days because we have run out of clothes there," Mobley said.

Balch Springs grass fire causes $6M in damage to homes

Balch Springs house fires sparked by crews mowing grass

Balch Springs house fires sparked by crews mowing grass

Balch Springs Fire Marshal Sean Davis said the flames caused an estimated $6 million in property damage. A total of 26 homes were affected by either fire, smoke or water. Nine were destroyed.

Quinonez says his wife picked up their daughter’s uniform on Monday from Mesquite ISD.

"We couldn’t save anything. Clothes, shoes, nothing at all," he said.

Now, Quinonez is forced to search for an apartment while staying strong for his family.

"If we show that we are weak, it will be worse for them," he said.

Several families are staying in hotels. Others are moving into long-term Airbnbs. Some are staying with family.

Mesquite ISD says it’s worked with its transportation department and every child, no matter what city they are staying in, will be picked up for school and dropped as long as their family need.

Twenty-seven homes were damaged and nine of them totally destroyed on July 25 when a large grass fire swept through Spring Ridge, a neighborhood in Balch Springs.

The 67-acre vacant lot where the grass fire started is owned by Sikka Investments LLC. The group owns five similar vacant lots across Dallas County, all but one directly bordering gas stations on property owned or previously owned by the company. Some of the fields are right next to homes, including the Balch Springs property, and some of the fields last week had patches of tall grass. The city of Irving recently cited a Sikka property for tall grass and weeds.

Fire marshal Sean Davis said the grass on the Sikka property in Balch Springs had grown beyond city code standards, to the point of creating “a heavy amount of fuel.”

“And once ignited, there’s just a whole lot of material to burn at that point,” he said.

As months without rain led to drought, grassy fields have become tinder for wildfires across the area. Fire officials say poor maintenance of the Sikka field led to a fire that destroyed a neighborhood.

Sikka Investments, with corporate addresses in Plano and Dallas, acquired the land in Balch Springs on the corner of Belt Line Road and Interstate 20 in May 2014, according to Dallas County appraisal records. The group sold part of the property in September, the current location of a Fox Fuels gas station, to Mountain Express Oil Company, a gas station real estate and distribution company based in Georgia.

Sikka Investments did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Mountain Express Oil confirmed in a written statement it owns the Fox Fuels location on Belt Line, not the vacant lot, and has since contributed over $5,000 to the City of Balch Springs Spring Ridge Fire Recovery Fund.

Balch Springs issued a citation to the owners of the vacant field to appear in court following two requests to cut the grass, which had grown past code standards, authorities said at the time of the blaze. Residents have said they complained to the city multiple times about the overgrowth and height of the grass.

The owners hired contractors to mow the grass after the citation, authorities said. Fire marshal Davis said the grass fire started when a mower blade struck a hard object, creating a spark that ignited the dry field. He said in the past, workers had “for months or maybe years” piled dead grass against a fence on the property.

Davis said he could not provide additional information on the contractors who were mowing the field or the property’s owners, citing the department’s ongoing investigation.

Similar properties

Sikka Investments owns nine properties throughout the area, according to county records: six in Dallas, two in Irving, and one in Balch Springs, the site of the July 25 fire. Six of the properties are vacant lots ranging from 0.6 to 67 acres, all at the corners of major roads and all but one adjacent to gas stations.

Two properties border residential neighborhoods, similar to the way the Balch Springs property directly borders the Spring Ridge subdivision.

At the Sikka property in southeast Dallas on St. Augustine Drive, a gas station is under construction. Directly behind the station is a 19-acre plot of land owned by Sikka Investments, similar to the layout of the Balch Springs vacant lot.

Rows of subdivision houses face the southeast Dallas field from Brierwood Lane and Whistler Drive. As of last week, the vacant lot had visible patches of tall vegetation and was marked off by construction fences.

The 19-acre lot is five miles west on I-20 from the site of the original fire.

A Fox Fuels gas station on property owned by Sikka Investments is at the corner of Northgate Drive and Texas 161 Frontage Road, in Irving. A much smaller 0.6-acre plot of land also owned by Sikka Investments sits between the station and the intersection of these roads. Documents show the Irving code enforcement department issued a code violation notice against Sikka in early August for “grass/weeds in excess of 10 inches.”

Shane Diller, code enforcement director of Irving, said a reinspection conducted Tuesday found the property “not in-compliance for violations of trash/debris and high grass & weeds.”

“The city is in the process now of preparing to have the grass mowed by a city contractor,” he said in a written statement.

The group owns three other vacant lots directly next to Fox Fuels gas stations in Buckner Terrace on Buckner Road, in southern Dallas on Marvin D. Love Freeway, and the site in Balch Springs. Sikka Investments sold the real estate of the three Fox Fuels gas stations to Mountain Express Oil in 2021.

Directly adjacent to the Buckner Terrace station is a three-acre vacant lot owned by Sikka Investments, where the grass was cut short as of last week. A row of houses borders the lot to the north.

A five-acre vacant lot owned by Sikka Investments wraps around the Fox Fuels station in southern Dallas. Visibly tall and dry vegetation and grass could be seen on the vacant lot along with long-dead, dry palm trees. Power lines are behind the field on land owned by Oncor.

Additionally, Sikka owns a one-acre vacant lot in Red Bird at the northwest corner of South Polk Street and Interstate 20 next to the Dallas County Sheriff’s Academy. The lot is across Polk street from an Exxon location that was never owned by Sikka or Mountain Express. The lot’s grass was cut short as of last week.

The group’s latest listed property is a CVS location Sikka Investments bought from the pharmacy giant in March.

Balch Springs City Manager Susan Cluse said the city is not pursuing legal action against Sikka, and the fire is still under investigation. She said at the moment, many of the residents, some homeowners, some renters, are staying in area hotels with help from the city and charitable organizations.

Most people are still in the process of receiving information from their insurance companies.

“We’re trying to figure out ways to help them get them back on their feet,” she said.