Two Muleshoe homes were destroyed and another severely damaged in a fire on West 11^th St. early Monday morning, according to Assistant Fire Chief Ricky Railsback.

Muleshoe Volunteer Fire Department received the call reporting a fire at about 1 a.m. Monday morning.

Around 25 firefighters from Muleshoe, Sudan and Lazbuddie volunteer fire departments were involved in extinguishing the fires. Muleshoe Police Department, EMS and the Bailey County Sheriff’s office were on the scene helping evacuate houses in possible danger.

The fires were under control by about 5:30 a.m., and firefighters back to the station by 7 a.m.

The apparent source of the fires was a downed power line, presumably caused by high winds.

“It was a horrible wind,” Railsback said. “I’d assume around 65 to 70 mph with gusts. It was pretty steady.”

Railsback acknowledged that it’s difficult to fight a fire while hampered by high winds.

“That’s how we lost three structures,” he said.

The fire started at a house beside Terry Brewster’s, then spread to the Brewster home and another house, one on the north side and one on the south.

A benefit fund has been established at Happy State Bank for Terry Brewster, according to social media posts.

While the cause of the fire has not been officially determined, Railsback said he was pretty positive it was the power lines.

And while there are precautions people can take to prevent or limit fires, such as making sure you have working smoke detectors and cleaning out trash around the outside of your home, there’s not a lot you can do about an electrical line fire.

“It just happens. There’s really no way to really prevent that,” Railsback said.