Aerial views of the fire showed flames spreading through backyards and homes. In total, 26 homes were affected. Some burned to the ground, while others were damaged.

BALCH SPRINGS, Texas — It’s been one year since the Balch Springs fire started in an empty field, spreading quickly to homes at Interstate 20 and South Beltline Road.

Aerial views of the fire showed flames spreading through backyards and homes. In total, 26 homes were affected. Some burned to the ground while others were damaged.

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 at the time.

Adut Kual said she still feels anxiety from July 25, 2022. She said her two-year-old son was the first to notice something wrong that day.

“He was like, ‘mommy, fire!’,” Kual said.

Kual said her son was, ironically, playing with his firetruck toy. She thought he was playing around, but he kept repeating the word ‘fire.’

“I was like, what do you mean fire?” Kual said.

When Kual finally looked out the window, her back fence had already burned down. Flames were spreading quickly toward her home, and black smoke filled the air.

“Us, we’re running out, we didn’t have no shoes, nothing,” Kual said.

Kual said a neighbor gave her and her family shoes to wear as people began to gather at a distance to watch the fire burn in their neighborhood.

On Kual’s property, the fire burned down her fence and charred her backyard. The flames made it to the back walls of her home but stopped there. Burn marks in her yard and a blackened fence post remind Kual of how scared she was that day.

“The house, the things that I have inside, the most important memories, you know the pictures we brought from back home – brought here..." Kual said of her fears that day. "Everything will be gone."

Homes on either side of Kual's were damaged or destroyed.

Willie Brooks watched the fire from his house down the street. He said when he walked outside that afternoon, the smoke in the air was so dark you could hardly see in front of you.

Brooks said it was a helpless feeling.

"There was nothing you could do about it except sit there and watch it burn down," Brooks said of the homes.

Brooks said he was concerned the fire may jump the street and burn other homes.

"Just about everyone around was getting their water hose and spraying houses," Brooks said.

He hoped if that happened, a wet roof and wet grass would help salvage his property.

Brooks said he knew two people who did not have a home to return to after the fire. One is rebuilding, the other decided not to return.

He said he understands why.

“It was gonna be traumatic," Brooks said. "Unless you are unhuman, you couldn’t help but feel bad."

While a lot has changed in the area of the Balch Springs fire, what remains is the memory of what a hot, dry day can bring.

"It feels like it was yesterday," Kual said.

BALCH SPRINGS (CBSNewsTexas.com) – One of the inherent dangers of these severe storms is so much rain, causing flash flooding.

There's even more concern in one area between Dallas and Balch Springs, where some residents say the buildup of man made debris is creating a serious safety risk.

If you want an old shopping cart, there's always plenty to choose from at the bottom of a concrete ravine under Lake June Road.

Ken Winn removed 33 out of there recently and a handful more while on Thursday.

Water from heavy rains can flow through the shopping carts, but when they get clogged with other debris, they can cause the water to back up in a part of North Texas already prone to flash flooding.

Winn has taken it upon himself to get as many out as he can every week.

"I feel like I'm making a difference doing something that needs to be done, because nobody else will do it," Winn said.

The carts are disposed of by the homeless after being used bring items to a nearby scrap metal plant in exchange for money.

CBS News Texas asked the cities of Dallas and Balch Springs about the build up, but have yet to receive a response.

Winn says he has trouble getting stores to take the carts back.

"If the stores don't claim them, I donate them to food banks," he said.

He doesn't want to think about what the area would look like if he didn't care about his neighborhood or worry about the flood risk.

"There's not much one man can do, but I've been doing my part but I know one of these days it will be a serious problem," Winn said.

One civil engineer said if one part or section of a storm drainage system fails, it can easily cause others to back up as well.

So, what's happening here could cause problems elsewhere.

Right now, only one man is keeping this from looking a lot worse.

J.D. Miles

J.D. Miles is an award-winning reporter who has been covering North Texas for CBS 11 since 1996.

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The insurance company for three Balch Springs homeowners whose properties were damaged in a July 25 grass fire is suing the owner of the vacant lot where the fire started.

State Farm Lloyds, the insurance company for Edgar Cruz, Mario Thompson and Miguel Quinonez, filed the lawsuit Friday in Dallas County to recover the amount it paid out on their claims — at least $1 million — from Sikka Investments.

Multiple phone calls made to numbers listed for Sikka Investments were not returned Tuesday.

The three homeowners lived on Broadview and Elm Point drives in the Spring Ridge subdivision, the neighborhood adjacent to the 67-acre lot where the fire started.

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Sikka Investments had a citation to appear in court over a code violation for tall grass and hired mowers to cut the grass — later described as “a heavy amount of fuel” — during the notably dry summer. The fire started, authorities said, when a mower blade sparked against a sharp object and ignited the field.

“And once ignited, there’s just a whole lot of material to burn at that point,” Balch Springs Fire Marshal Sean Davis said in August.

The fire spread quickly and damaged 27 homes, destroying nine of them. The lawsuit says the three residents’ homes were destroyed or damaged to the point they were uninhabitable.

At the time of the fire, authorities estimated total property damage exceeded $6 million.

Doug Heuvel, an attorney representing State Farm Lloyds, expected other insurers will join the lawsuit.

Sikka Investments owns five similar vacant lots across Dallas County, according to appraisal records. One of the similar properties in Irving is the site of a code violation issued in August for “grass/weeds in excess of 10 inches.”

Documents show the group also had at least one code violation — issued in early July — in Dallas for grass in excess of 12 inches on a Buckner Boulevard property.

The six properties, including the site of the Balch Springs fire, are located at the corners of major roads and all but one are adjacent to gas stations. Two properties border residential neighborhoods, similar to how the Balch Springs property borders the Spring Ridge subdivision.

Sikka Investments acquired the Balch Springs land, on the corner of Belt Line Road and Interstate 20, in May 2014, according to Dallas County appraisal records. The company sold part of the property, the current location of a Fox Fuels gas station, in September 2021 to Mountain Express Oil Co., a gas station real estate and distribution company based in Georgia.

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.

Local organizations are taking donations to help the families impacted by the July 25 fire including Sharing Life in Mesquite and the City of Balch Springs.

Late Tuesday morning, Mitch Ryan arrived at what was left of his home after a brush fire swept through the area the day before. It’s the house where his granddaughter took her first steps and had her first birthday party.

“We've had first-time memories that were lifetime memories we've had here,” Ryan said. “It's just so upsetting to know that, you know, we got to leave all that....”

Ryan and his family were not at home when the fire swept through Balch Springs. His two dogs were in the house, but a nearby friend saved them.

Ryan assessed the damage and collected what was left of his home in 100-degree heat. Among the few things that his family was able to salvage were several pairs of shoes, his wife Rachel’s wedding dress and epilepsy medications.

Now, the Ryan family has to start over again.

"God has a bigger plan for us,” Ryan said.

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Ryan’s neighbor, Andre Camp was in shock and disbelief as his home of 16 years was engulfed in a cloud of smoke and fire on Monday.

“Family memories, years and years of hard work, you know, in a pile of ashes basically,” Camp said.

Camp said his family is staying with his mom while he starts to file insurance claims. He's thankful that no one was hurt and that his family is safe.

A couple of houses down, Wilfredo Gomez took in what was left of his family's home of 14 years. All that remained after the fire was the front structure and a slumped-over garage door.

"For it to be gone, like their life savings was in there," Gomez said. "Like, man, all our clothes, their anniversaries, wedding, everything – family pictures. Everything is gone."

Gomez said his brother was about to take a shower when the fire approached, and he narrowly escaped. He says it will take a long time for his family to recover from these losses.

“I hope we all get back on our feet and how we were, you know," he said. "It just brings you back. It just brought us back 20 years."

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As the Texas drought rages on, Smokey Bear’s reminder that it just takes one spark to create a devastating wildfire is hitting home.

Twenty-six homes were damaged and nine destroyed in a Balch Springs “inferno” July 25. No injuries were reported. And with Wednesday’s news of a grass fire in Frisco near Legacy Drive — thankfully no one was injured and no structures were damaged – the need to prevent wildfires from starting is top of mind.

The Balch Springs blaze reportedly sparked from a “brush hogger” cutting tall, dry grass up to 6 feet tall. An active code violation was pending against the property owner, who owns 67 acres of undeveloped land adjacent to a residential area. He’d hired a contractor to mow the lot, city officials said. Balch Springs code requires grass and weeds to be less than 10 inches.

High grass and weeds is the No. 1 code violation in Dallas; property owners are required to keep it at 12 inches or lower. Violations can result in court citations or a bill for the city’s mowing services.

Balch Springs Fire Marshal Sean Davis said in his 20 years on the job, he hasn’t seen anything like this happen in the small community about 15 miles east of downtown Dallas.

“There was debris, junk, concrete, and metal buried in the grass,” Davis said. “[The contractor] was dragging a brush hog behind a tractor. As he was cutting, there was a large amount of grass behind it. Brush hogging is just knocking it down; it’s not a clean kind of mowing.”

The city of about 20,000 is adjacent to Mesquite. There’s one fire department, staffed by approximately 30 volunteers, but firefighters from neighboring communities assisted in battling the blaze through a mutual aid agreement. His first call as the fire gained momentum July 25 was to the Dallas Fire Department, Davis said.

Texas-Sized Tinderbox

Only 30 of the Lone Star State’s 254 counties are not currently under a burn ban — the most in the state since 4 million acres were scorched in 2011.

Residents aren’t allowed to burn trash right now, but things like a catalytic converter, chains dragging behind a vehicle, or welding can create a spark. Texas A&M Forest Service reports that 90 percent of wildfires are human-caused, as opposed to naturally-occurring events such as lightning. More than 210,000 acres of Texas land have burned this year to date.

“As conditions continue to deteriorate for much of the state, we remain proactive in ensuring the state has the necessary resources to respond to any wildfire,” said Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Chief Wes Moorehead. “Wildfire activity is occurring across the state, from border to border, and requires a lot of support. Texas A&M Forest Service continues to mobilize additional firefighters, equipment, and aircraft, positioning them across the state for a quick response.”

Coupled with low humidity and high winds, dry grass becomes a tinder box of “fuel,” ripe for a wildfire, Davis explained. The blaze in Balch Springs ripped through a neighborhood in about 40 minutes, the fire marshal added.

“That grass was fire fuel,” Davis said. “It was something for the fire to burn and consume. If it’s not there, it can’t be burned that rapidly. I hesitate to say this, but every home in that area that had some kind of covered back patio, deck, or pergola, burned. I’m afraid it was the wood in those structures that caught fire and introduced the fire to the homes.”

A light shower isn’t going to change the widespread drought conditions, Davis cautioned.

“The vegetation is dead; it’s not going to absorb anything,” he said.

Most of the state is “absolutely dry,” according to the Keetch-Byram Drought Index.

“Persistent temperatures above 100 degrees will continue to draw moisture from live vegetation,” Texas A&M Forest Service experts said in a press release. “Mid-July live fuel samples in the Cross Timbers, Rolling Plains, and Hill Country are at critical levels, making tree torching, or the transition of fire from the ground to the canopy of trees, likely with elevated fire weather conditions.”

Water Shortages

As the thermometer hangs in the triple digits, residents are fighting outrageous electric bills just to keep their homes air-conditioned. Watering the lawn has also become a challenge in small Texas towns where homeowners have been asked to conserve.

The city of Gunter, a small Grayson county Community near Sherman and Celina, recently asked its residents to “severely restrict non-essential water usage” like outdoor watering, washing machines, and dishwashers. They’ve also been asked to limit the use of showers and sinks. The shortage occurred due to “excessive use of water,” city officials announced July 27.

A message on the city website Wednesday said phones were down at City Hall, and no current information was posted about the water issue. More than 2,000 residents live in the community.

Dry grass, compounded by the inability to water it, puts rural communities at an even higher risk for wildfire, experts say. However, James McAfee with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service says most people don’t know how to properly water their lawns.

Homeowners should be aware of soil type, grass variety, management practices, and environmental conditions when developing a watering plan, McAfee said.

“Environmental conditions affect the water requirements of a lawn,” he said. “With low humidity, high temperatures, and high winds, water is quickly lost from the soil by transpiration and evaporation, and grass will need watering more often. When the weather is cool, humid, and less windy, grass will need less water.”

Who is Most at Risk?

Davis emphasized that residents in developed suburban areas who live on less than an acre and keep their yards mowed don’t have a lot to worry about when it comes to wildfire.

“If you’re in a residential neighborhood and someone’s barbecue grill falls over and your grass is 1 or 2 inches in height, it might cause some fence damage, but it’s nothing that can’t be put out with a fire hose,” Davis said.

The Balch Springs fire happened in an area of dry, dense, thick grass cluttered with debris that didn’t belong to the people who lost their homes, Davis pointed out. It wasn’t their fault — or their responsibility — and yet they’re now living in hotels and awaiting assistance from the American Red Cross and local charities.

“As DFW continues to grow and develop, we’ve got neighborhoods popping up all over,” he said. “They grow and develop adjacent to vacant, undeveloped land waiting for things like commercial retail. When you’re bordering large acreage, if [the property owner is] not mowing it, I would go back behind my house and mow.”

As the Balch Springs community rebuilds, Davis has encouraged residents to get rid of debris in their yards, cords of firewood stacked against the house, and “the old boat you’ve been planning to fix up.”

And he can’t say it enough: cut the grass.