The latest updates as crews contend with multiple fires in Bexar County on Tuesday.
SAN ANTONIO — Bexar County authorities are responding to multiple fires in the region Tuesday, conditions exacerbated by dangerous winds and severely dry conditions.
The windy weather is also causing problems for CPS Energy customers, thousands of which didn’t have electricity Tuesday afternoon. Roughly 30 homes were evacuated in the area of Interstate 37 and Southton Road on the far southeast side, where crews are trying to prevent flames from leaping across Highway 181. That evacuation order remains active.
No injuries have been reported so far.
A Red Flag Warning is in place until 9 p.m. Tuesday for most of South Texas, spurred by the dangerous combination of strong winds, low humidity and dry weather.
Here’s the latest updates.
3:50 p.m. – Southton Road fire ‘contained,’ SAFD chief says
San Antonio Fire Chief Valerie Frausto said around 3:50 p.m. that the I-37 / Southton Road blaze was “contained,” with reported damage so far limited to two homes and one shed that were burned. Frausto said there have been no injuries reported thus far.
Crews are primarily working to extinguish hot spots right now. Frausto said the day’s strong winds make the situation “unpredictable.”
Fire officials couldn’t say how many acres the fire has burned as of yet, nor have they determined a cause.
3:40 p.m. – Power line falls at Fox Tech
San Antonio ISD reports the high winds caused a power line to fall and touch the campus fence of Fox Tech High School downtown. All students and staff are safe, but some classes were relocated for safety reasons. Power was also lost at the campus, but instruction was able to continue using natural light.
3:30 p.m. – Power outages top 18,000
CPS Energy says crews are working to keep up with power outages spurred by the strong winds. At 3:30 p.m., the number of impacted customers was 18,654, with 186 active outages being reported.
3:10 p.m. – Gas station toppled
In a sign of just how strong winds are in South Texas on Tuesday, the canopy at a Valero gas station in Boerne toppled over on Tuesday afternoon. Officials said there were no cars underneath at the time and no one was injured.
3 p.m. – Multiple active fires
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said it was assisting with five fires in the county’s southern neighborhoods. In addition to the mandatory evacuation area near I-37 and Southton, there’s also a mandatory evacuation for the 600 block of Duke Road between Trump and Pleasanton.
The Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office also said crews were responding to several house fires where flames are being driven by high wind speeds.
1 p.m. – Fire ‘spreading rapidly’ in southeast Bexar County
Officials said a brush fire that sparked around 12:45 p.m. in the area of I-37 and Southton was “spreading rapidly,” prompting an evacuation order for the below area. Large flames were visible as street signs swayed in the strong winds.