HIDALGO COUNTY -- It started around 2 o’clock Monday afternoon and quickly spread through two-hundred acres of land.
Hidalgo County Fire Marshal, Tony Peña, said they would have stopped the blaze at 50 acres, but the high winds and low humidity is what kept the fire burning.
"That was a wind driven fire. Had we not had the steady winds of 17 or 18 mph with gusts at 26 or 27 mph then we probably could've maintained that fire at 50 or 60 acres. Because it was wind driven it grew very rapidly," said Peña.
Peña said he expects the cause of the fire to be undetermined for numerous reasons.
"Those fires are really hard...there's so much traffic going by that it doesn't take much,” said Peña.
He said anything from a piece of glass laying in the field or cigarette being tossed out the window could have cause the massive blaze.
Not far from where the blaze ignited is the La Muneca Cattle Company, with over 400 cattle grazing the land.
"We rushed over here, located where the fire was and decided what we could do to save our cattle," said owner, Carlos Guerra.
Guerra has owned this Ranch since 1989 and said he is lucky that all of his cattle is safe.
"Luckily we were able to call them in and pin them in some corals where we thought they'd be the safest," said Guerra.
While Guerra and his team’s quick thinking saved the cattle…Guerra credits the quick response of firefighters to the scene.
"Without all of those people working together,” said Guerra. “This fire would have been a lot larger."
We are also told that the burn ban will be in effect until July 26th…but because of this dry weather it could be extended.
So as these summer months continue to heat up, remember to use caution when traveling those open roads.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT