SAN ANTONIO — On Monday, family members of three people killed in an Atascosa County fire near the community of Von Ormy could only hold each other and cry.
Standing outside yellow tape still marking the devastating scene on Blue Lilly Road off Highway 16, they brought candles and stuffed animals that will never know hugs from two young children killed early Sunday morning.
Officials have not identified the dead, but family members said big sister Mia Alena Oyervides was not yet 5-years-old, and her little brother Ezekiel Segovia Oyervides was just 2-years-old. A funeral fund has been set up by family members to help bury them.
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Family members said the two kids were spending the night with their grandmother, Vanessa Ortega, who also died in the fast-moving fire that was called in around 3 a.m.
The fire was so intense, the mobile home is now not much more than the I-beams at the base of its frame. Everything that used to be a home burned so completely, the charred cinder remains fell all the way to the ground.
People who live nearby said they woke up to bright flickering light and the sound of a roaring fire.
Atascosa County dispatchers reported that numerous people called for help.
A deputy racing to the scene told his dispatcher he could see flames against the night sky from about one mile away. When he finally arrived on scene, he reported that the home appeared to already be a total loss.
Volunteer firefighters were able to keep the fire from taking out nearby homes, but it was several hours before they were able to get into the structure to recover the remains of the victims. Officials said volunteers from the following departments responded: Poteet Volunteer Fire Department, Jourdanton Volunteer Fire Department, Rossville Volunteer Fire Department and Bexar County Emergency Services District 5.
On Monday, Atascosa County Fire Marshal Devon Wilborn said the search for a cause is complicated and extensive. Wilborn said he is not ready to issue a ruling on a possible cause for the fire.
Family members said while they raise money to bury the lost, they will have a prayer service and balloon release on Friday at 7 p.m. at the fire scene in the 100 block of Blue Lilly, just west of Highway 16.