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Neighbor recalls terrifying moments as fire raged toward her North Side home

Fire next door burned through Deluvina Hernandez’s fence

SAN ANTONIO – From the sound of her barking dogs, Deluvina Hernandez knew instantly that something was wrong.

However, when she looked outside her backyard window after 11:30 p.m. Thursday, she still got a big shock.

RELATED: Fire engulfs storage shed, spreads to vacant home, SAFD says

“There were people out front and the flames out back. It was a huge--I never saw a flame like that,” she said, excitedly.

Hernandez and her neighbors in the 200 block of Green Meadow were still talking Friday morning about the fire that initially broke out in a shed behind a vacant home.

A tree destroyed by the fire continues to smolder amid the ruins of what had been a backyard shed. (KSAT 12 News)

Before San Antonio firefighters arrived, it had spread to the vacant home and was heading straight toward Hernandez’s property.

As she looked at the damage in the daylight, Hernandez realized the fire had gotten closer to her than she realized.

The heat from the fire next door melted the siding on Deluvina Hernandez's home. (KSAT 12 News)

It burned through her fence and melted the siding on her home as well as power lines in her backyard.

“I called 911 while I was outside on my porch looking at that big flame,” she said.

According to neighbors, the owner of the home died several years ago.

Although no one was supposed to be living there, they suspect someone had been using the property without permission.

Arson investigators are still looking into the cause of the fire.


About the Authors
Katrina Webber headshot

Katrina Webber joined KSAT 12 in December 2009. She reports for Good Morning San Antonio. Katrina was born and raised in Queens, NY, but after living in Gulf Coast states for the past decade, she feels right at home in Texas. It's not unusual to find her singing karaoke or leading a song with her church choir when she's not on-air.

Santiago Esparza headshot

Santiago Esparza is a photojournalist at KSAT 12.

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