Hundreds of Montana Vista residents evacuated their homes Monday afternoon. Some took shelter with family members, while others made their way to a nearby school. For some families, this isn't the first time they've been evacuated.

"We were flooded on the west side, and we had to move out of that complex when all the storms hit," said Hallie Williams, of Montana Vista.

For some students in school, news of the evacuations caused great concern.

"My bus driver told me they evacuated all the people from the mobile homes, so I was scared. I was like, 'Where did my mom go?'" said Claudia Garcia, of Montana Vista.

The gym and cafeteria at Red Sands Elementary school quickly became a refuge for residents. Chairs were set up along with plenty of food and water for an expected influx of guests.

"We've been prepared in case of an emergency so, last year with the flood, at one time we thought we would house families, luckily we didn't have to," said Michael Mackeben, principal of Red Sands Elementary.

There were about 80 to 100 people inside the gym for most of the afternoon. Relief officials were prepared to handle many more.

"We always have a trailer ready to roll with 250 cots, blankets, and all the shelter supplies that we need. So, we hooked that up, got it here as quickly as we could and hopefully that'll make people comfortable until they're able to go back to their homes," said Mark Matthys, with the El Paso Red Cross.

Around 6:30 p.m. Monday night, those who evacuated earlier could return to their homes. Officials at the scene say the fire no longer poses a threat to residents living nearby.