Authorities first responded to the fire burning in a field near Interstate 37 and Southton Road around 12:45 p.m. Some roads in the area are still closed.
SAN ANTONIO — Officials say 182 homes were evacuated in a southeast-San Antonio community as Bexar County crews responded to a large brush fire that officials now say is 30% contained after it was “spreading rapidly” earlier on the day Tuesday.
No injuries have been reported, and City of San Antonio officials said around 7 p.m. that evacuated families were able to return to their properties. Dubbed the Calaveras Fire, the blaze impacted 60 acres and is 30% contained as of 7:15 p.m., according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
San Antonio Fire Chief Valerie Frausto said four homes and one shed had burned down, making it around a dozen structures that were impacted or destroyed by fires across the community on a day of severe winds.
The fire, initially reported near Interstate 37 and Southton Road around 12:45 p.m., was comprised of fast-moving flames on a Red Flag Warning day when sustained winds of 30 mph were being recorded, with the occasional wind gust topping 40 mph. That makes the firefighting effort tougher for responders.
“It is extremely challenging,” Frausto said. “Right when we think we have it contained, there’s hot spots that units continuously try to extinguish. It’s very difficult to contain a fire like this.”
Frauso said local, country and state resources will remain in the area through Tuesday night so ensure it doesn’t relight.
An evacuation order for an area roughly 1.8 square miles in size was issued around 1:15 p.m. for residences in the fire’s path. The radius of that area – seen in the map below – included Southton Road, Donop Road, Streich Road and Old Corpus Christi Road.
While the mandatory evacuation order has lifted, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) said the follows roads will remain closed as crews continue to clean up after the Calaveras Fire and the nearby Duke Fire:
- Southton Road all the way to Streich Road
- Streich Road all the way to Old Corpus Christi Road
- Old Corpus Christi Road all the way along northbound Highway 181 to Donop Road
- Trumbo Road at Black Powder closed to southbound traffic
- Trumbo Road at Duke closed to southbound traffic
- Trumbo Road at Duke Road closed all the way to Pleasanton Road
- Trumbo Road at Peaceful Lane closed all the way to Pleasanton Road
- Pleasanton Road closed the way to Atascosa County off Spur Ridge
Here is another map showing the locations of at least some fires BCSO said it was responding to Tuesday afternoon.
Officials also said they were working to prevent the Calaveras Fire from leaping across nearby Highway 181.
“We need people to be cognizant of what’s going on around them,” Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said. “It only takes a spark, and then you’ll have a fire popping up.”
East Central ISD said the fire is near the former Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC), which now serves as office space for child nutrition staff and other departments and does not have any students housed there. Staff have reportedly been evacuated as a precaution. The district says no students have been affect at their schools, however some bus routes may be affected. Parents will be contact if the route changes affect their students.
An ‘inadvertent’ alert
Bexar County officials said in a Facebook post that the evacuation order was sent to the entire county in error.
The post added that the evacuation pertained only to the aforementioned quadrant, impacting about 30 homes. A temporary shelter has been established for evacuees at Mission Espada Fellowship Hall, located at 10040 Espada Road.
