CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Editor's note: The above video is from Sunday night's story on the fire.
The fire burning Sunday and into Monday afternoon on Padre Island was started by two 12-year-old boys trying to cook in the dunes, said Corpus Christi Fire Department Asst. Chief Randy Paige.
He said one of the boys was injured during the fire, and was being treated for first- and second-degree burns to his hands.
Nueces County Emergency Service District 2 (ESD2) crews were back at the scene of the fire that began Sunday to try and finish extinguishing the flames, which was eventually put out at around 4:30 p.m.
"I know I watched it overnight to see if it was going to spread," ESD No. 2 deputy chief JP Hominick said. "So if we needed to evacuate we could."
ESD2 officials said in a social media post Sunday night that they hoped to let the fire burn out by itself due to it heading toward marshy areas and the water, but then posted Monday morning that it was back at the scene to help extinguish the fire.
"There are still currently nothing in danger, crews are just making an attempt to extinguish the fire completely if possible," the post said.
Hominick said the department hopes to have the fire out within the next four hours, and all hands are on deck working toward that goal.
"We are clear of all structures," he said. "We had a structure last night behind us we were able to protect. Now the fire has moved past. There’s nothing really in danger but if we don’t get it out now it will continue burning and have the chance to jump across the road. Then we will be in a completely different situation."
He also said the wind direction is working in their favor currently.
The fire currently is burning alongside Park Road 22, headed toward the Padre Island National Seashore.
"So what we are doing now is literally walking down Park Road 22 to do a back burn to let it put itself out," Hominick said. "We are able to get the backburn going, the wind is pushing the fire towards the other fire line where they will meet together and put themselves out."
With dry conditions, and the vegetation in this area, fires can escalate quickly, leading Hominick and residents to ask everyone to be cautious.
"If you want to try and burn anything, it's going to want to burn hot and fast," he said. "If we burn anything make sure there is waterhose around and a protective pit."
Digital director Ana Tamez contributed to this story.
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