'It's very scary' | Residents in Medina County neighborhood forced out as wildfires continue

MEDINA COUNTY, Texas — Residents in the High Mountain Ranch neighborhood are anxiously waiting to return home after a wildfire forced them to evacuate over the weekend in Medina County.

During a press conference on Sunday, Governor Greg Abbott said 40 homes in the area have been impacted with 37 homes saved and three destroyed by the fire.

Sharon Tijerina’s said her home had no damage but still had to evacuate due to the proximity of the flames inside the cul-de-sac. Tijerina quickly grabbed her things before leaving but said her cat ‘Spooky’ ran away during the process. He was later found Sunday evening. 

“It’s very scary, very scary,” said Tijerina.

She is staying at her sister’s home in San Antonio until the fire clears. Others turned to Loma Alta Middle School for shelter on Saturday as the county opened up an evacuation side inside the school’s gym.

A district’s spokesperson said a total of 13 people used the evacuation site in some capacity. She said Rodriguez family used the facility to spend the night while others used it for supplies such as food and water.

Rodrigo and Mary Elaine Rodriguez were grateful for the evacuation site especially because they didn’t know where to go with nine dogs in tow. 

“We didn’t have much time so we grabbed what we thought was important at the time and tried to get out of [our house] in 15 to 20 minutes,” said Mary Elaine Rodriguez.

The county closed the evacuation site in the afternoon on Sunday. The couple said they were heading to the next available site at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Helotes. 

Anyone who is displaced by the Medina County fires can find shelter at this designated location.

As of Sunday night, the Texas A&M Forest Service said 1,092 acres had burned in Medina County and the fire was 50 percent contained.