BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A large wildfire broke out Friday afternoon north of Brownsville near Los Fresnos.

The grass fire was near Old Alice Road and north of FM511 in a rural area where no homes were in danger, Brownsville Fire Department Fire Chief Jared Sheldon told ValleyCentral.

“We had a difficult time accessing [the fire] with a lot of ranch fences and a lot of cattle in areas,” Sheldon said. “We’re able to use our drones to find some access points and get the fire under control.”

About 40 to 50 acres of land were affected and it took both the Los Fresnos and Brownsville fire department about an hour and half to get the blaze under control, Sheldon said. Firefighters said hot spots remained across the affected area and would take another hour or so after the fire was under control to knock down hot spots.

  • About 40 to 50 acres of rural land was burned in a brush fire Friday near Los Fresnos, with fire department from Los Fresnos and Brownsville responding. (ValleyCentral)
  • A Brownsville firefighter controls an aerial drone to survey the fire. (ValleyCentral)
  • A Brownsville firefighter controls an aerial drone to survey the fire. (ValleyCentral)
  • Firefighters from Brownsville and Los Fresnos responded to the fire, which affected a rural area off Old Alice Road near Los Fresnos. (ValleyCentral)

The fire department’s drone was also being used to access those hot spots, even using infrared to detect remaining hotspots.

Firefighters said wind and dry grass affected by the December freeze contributed to conditions that fueled the fire and attributes to the risk of other fires in the Valley.

The Cameron County Fire Marshal is currently investigating the cause of the grassfire.

“This is not our first fire here in the past year,” Sheldon said. “We’re going to look into it.”