Red Cross opens emergency shelter after Balch Springs grass fire

BALCH SPRINGS, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - A total of eight families were at the Balch Springs Recreation Center Monday night where the Red Cross established an emergency shelter after a grass fire spread into a neighborhood.

Families had only seconds to evacuate the fire that was quickly spreading.

"It was a hell of a day. I mean it just came from nowhere," Nikki Fobbs said.

Fobbs and her family were at home in Balch Springs when a grass fire behind their subdivision quickly enveloped the neighborhood. 

"I went out and I saw the smoke so I just thought one house on the back corner was on fire and then I looked again, and I was like, oh my god, everybody is on fire and my my dad was in the shower so I had run and got him," Fobbs said. "I told him get out of the shower. We gotta go, we gotta go, we gotta go. By time he realized what I said, and he came out he was like, oh my god. We gotta go, we don't need nothing."

The family believes they will be one of the lucky residents who only need a temporary home for a few days. 

"I mean, I don't even know how to feel right now," Fobbs said. "I mean, I'm thankful my house didn't catch fire. But I have a lot of smoke."

Emergency supplies and resources were arriving throughout the evening at the Balch Springs Recreation Center, where families that lost everything face starting over. 

"This is just the first step to make sure the people have a safe place to go in the coming days," said Jen Edwards, with the American Red Cross. "We will also be working with people who lost their homes to ensure that they are taken care of as far as short term recovery services."

Even homes that may have withstood fire damage could still be ruined by water or smoke. 

It's a reminder how dangerous this grass fire risk is even to urban areas.