True to weather forecasters predictions of dry weather this week, a brush fire struck a wooded area near a residential neighborhood in the east side of town Tuesday at rush hour.
About two acres burned. No injuries or property damage was reported.
The brush fire was reported at 4:45 p.m., but wind was blowing the smoke in all directions so badly that it took firefighters a little time to locate the exact location — about 500 feet into the woods near the corner of Hine Street and Lane Street.
“It took probably 10 minutes to locate the fire,” said Assistant Fire Chief Steve Childs.
When firefighters located the blaze, they found it burning an area of 400 feet by 200 feet. But it was determined to be larger, said Assistant Fire Marshal Timm Willis.
Willis was at the scene trying to determine the cause of the blaze, and concluded it was of undetermined origin. It was too deep into the woods to have been caused by a flicked cigarette, he said.
But in this dry weather, as weather forecasters have talked about in recent days, brush fires can break out anywhere, Childs warned.
“There’s probably no season for brush fires,” Childs said, pointing out there were a lot of leaves on the ground. “You can get it anytime,” he said.
Five pumpers responded to the scene, although only one was actually put into service. A rescue truck was at the scene to help firefighters and anyone suffering from smoke inhalation, but that was not needed either.
No homes were evacuated because of the smoke. There was no property damage reported, since the fire was a good distance from homes in the neighborhood, Childs said.
“I smelled the smoke and came outside,” said Jim Pavlik, who lives on Lane Street. He didn’t see flames though. “I didn’t even hear any sirens,” he said.
By 5:35 p.m., the fire was out and firefighters were soaking the area as a precaution.
