Alton Assistant City Manager Jonathan Flores said a brush fire near Bryan Road and 5 Mile Line is 90% contained.
Residents in the area who were told to evacuate will be able to return to their homes sometime in the next hour, he said about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“We did have a brush fire that came in at about 12:56, and it got fairly close to some homes that were out there just south of 5 (Mile Line) on Bryan Road,” Flores said. “We made the decision to evacuate the residences and we closed off 5 (Mile Line) and Bryan (Road) and 4 (Mile Line) and Bryan (Road) while our fire department worked the area.”
Flores said the Mission, Palmview, McAllen and Hidalgo County Pct. 3 fire departments assisted the Alton Fire Department in battling the blaze.
He estimated approximately 14 acres were burnt in the fire.
“At this time we’re demobilizing agencies as we hit the 100% mark of being cleared out,” Alton Fire Chief John Salinas said. “We have a couple of piles burning, smoldering, but they’ve been cleared out with a front end loader. The vegetation here seems to be considered somewhat residential but with farmland in the back. No exposures were damaged. No residences were damaged.”
At this time, the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
