Neighbors watch helplessly as fire tears through McKinney neighborhood

McKINNEY, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - A fire tore through a McKinney neighborhood over the weekend, destroying or badly damaging seven homes within minutes.

Neighbor Kapil Sama spotted the fire when it first began in the garage of a home across the street on Marigold Drive around 7:15 p.m. Saturday night.

"I tried to see if someone was there," he said. "Then I immediately called 911 and saw, by that time, it went beyond my control."

Just four minutes later, the house and the one next to it were engulfed.

Six houses burned to the ground, and one, which a family was living in, was so badly damaged that nearly everything in it is a loss. And neighbors across the street evacuated, worried the flames would spread to their homes.

"We just woke up, and it was really hot inside," said neighbor Suraj Naik. "We tried to come from here, but we could not open it, [because] it was so hot."

All of the surrounding neighbors' front windows shattered from the heat. Garage doors melted.

"There was smoke coming out of both of our houses. Maybe it was due to the melting of plastics, etc.," said Naik.

They are thankful that there were no injuries. But they said their hearts break for their future neighbors who now will have to start again.

"They were excited to come over in maybe six months. Now no one knows," said Sama.

The fire is under investigation by the Collin County Fire Marshal. They don't know the cause yet but say they're looking into multiple leads.