An ongoing wildfire near Possum Kingdom Lake was a scary sight for some residents as over 300 people were evacuated from the area Monday night. At least eight homes were believed to be destroyed, though officials are still assessing the damage.

“You could see everything burning even though it looked like it had died down — there were still flames, a lot of flames,” said Gary Benson of Houston, whose father-in-law lives near Possum Kingdom Lake in Palo Pinto County.

The fire near the North Texas lake, named the 1148 fire because of its proximity to Farm-to-Market Road 1148, has burned over 500 acres as of Tuesday afternoon. The Texas A&M Forest Service said the fire was 10% contained amid near-record heat and severe drought conditions.

Adam Turner, a public information officer for the Forest Service, said the fire started around noon Monday. The forest service was called out to assist around 2 p.m., Turner said.

Turner said it is believed the fire started near the north shore of the lake, about 80 miles west of Fort Worth. Its cause is under investigation, though officials said it wasn’t believed to be intentionally set.

“We are experiencing dry fuels to a level that we haven’t seen in the past ten years,” Turner said. “Any spark that lands in tall grass or even lands in some short grass right now is liable to spark.”

Over 100 personnel and 20 to 30 volunteers are in the fight against the blaze, Turner said Tuesday. No injuries have been reported.

Westlake Chapel, a church near the lake that served as a shelter for evacuees, made space for about 11 people who were mainly campers.

Teresa Jones, the church’s treasurer, said about 10 more people were outside the church watching air tankers and helicopters pouring over 3,000 gallons of water over the fire every two minutes.

Jones said campers left the area when they learned they couldn’t return to their campsites.

“Most of them have been placed or have gone back home,” Jones said.

Some residents were allowed to go into their homes to retrieve valuables and necessities, Jones said.

Benson said he and his family had to come from Wichita Falls to pick up his father-in-law.

“I don’t think you get to really experience it unless you’re driving really close and going, ‘Wow, that’s hot!’” he said. “You could feel the heat.”

Benson said he and his family watched the fire for as long as they could but soon realized that it was time to leave. He said wildfires aren’t something to sightsee.

“We went from driving there leisurely,” Benson said. “Then I told my wife, ‘We’re getting your dad and we are getting out of here because I don’t like this.’”

Keith and Vee Hanssen told WFAA-TV on Monday night that they watched from a boat on the lake as crews battled the blaze.

“It’s very intense when you can see it from the water’s edge,” Keith Hanssen said.

‘It’s scary,” Vee Hanssen told WFAA. “We pulled up to docks to talk to people just to see how they were doing.”

The couple told WFAA that there are few permanent residents in the area. They own Possum Kingdom Real Estate and sold vacation homes all around the lake.

“A lot of clients and a lot of friends,” Keith said. “We’re trying to send them pictures and updates and the unknown is always the worst part of it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story was originally published July 19, 2022 at 3:35 PM.