MARION COUNTY, W.Va. – Multiple fire departments spent six hours battling a brush fire off Mount Zion Road on Wednesday.
The first crews were dispatched around 3:15 p.m. Valley Fire Department Public Information Officer Cpt. Zac Eakle describes what the first units from Bunners Ridge encountered.
“They encountered a large brush fire that was coming up and over the hill, which was driven by the wind,” Eakle said. “It got out of control pretty quickly, but departments got there, everybody worked really well together, and the fire was under control in a couple hours.”
The fire scorched an estimated 20 acres and consumed an outbuilding fire where some lumber was stored.
“We do know any outdoor burning at the moment is strictly prohibited due to the humidity being very low and temperatures being high,” Eakle said. “It’s very dangerous to be burning anything right now.”
The list of departments that responded includes Bunners Ridge, Boothsville, Monongah, Triune Halleck, Fairview, Farmington, Barrackville, Worthington, and Winfield.
“No injuries were reported,” said Eakle. “Of course we’re a bunch of firefighters; we were a little out of shape; we needed some water, but nobody was hurt.”
The scene was cleared around 10 p.m. Wednesday. Eakle said the local McDonalds provided food, the Marion County Rescue brought water, and a group of concerned citizens also helped firefighters be as fresh as they could be.
“Folks brought some food up to us and kept us hydrated while we continued to work all afternoon to get that fire contained and extinguish a lot of the hot spots that were still burning in the black,” Eakle said. “It took various Marion County support systems to get the job done, and they took care of us while we were out there.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.