Firefighters found out just how perfect the situation was for a wildfire to spread Monday afternoon in a field off Boone Ford Road. When emergency personnel arrived on scene, flames were licking across about 10 acres. By the time three hours had passed, firefighters had the blaze under control, but the fire left more than 160 acres blackened.
Firefighters and emergency personnel from four counties, the City of Calhoun and the Georgia Forestry Commission worked for three hours to contain the brush fire. The blaze touched a total of 165 acres in the Gordon County Farmville community, authorities said, but no structures were damaged.
Firefighters had to concentrate heavily on keeping four particular homes safe on Foster Lusk and Heinz Roads.
They saturated the ground around the homes in an effort to stave off the approaching fire.
Gordon County Emergency Management Agency Director Richard Cooper said the emergency personnel involved worked under the philosophy of saving lives first and property second, but that bringing a fire of this magnitude under control without structural damage was a significant accomplishment.
“It’s a big achievement to save someone’s home,” he said. “Any time you can help a family, it’s always a sense of accomplishment.”
The cause
A spark from a piece of farm machinery may have started the fire, Cooper said.
A man was bush-hogging when part of his machine hit a rock, generating a spark that ignited some grass, Cooper said.
“It’s one of the worst we’ve had in a long time,” he added.
The brush fire began around 1:15 p.m. and spread across 165.4 acres in three hours, he explained. The fire was not contained until around 5:30 p.m.
Wind conditions and the dry ground contributed to the speed with which the fire spread, Cooper said..
The size of the fire required personnel from surrounding counties to bring extra trucks, and the Georgia Forestry Commission supplied a helicopter. Bartow, Whitfield, Murray and Floyd Counties provided assistance.
Around 4 p.m. the blaze headed towards the Farmville area and almost reached Highway 53, according to Cooper. The Gordon County Fire Department used all of its trucks at the scene, plus a volunteer truck.
Around 5 p.m. the firefighters and Georgia Forestry personnel had a line around the fire with a helicopter dumping water on any hot spots.
Plainville fires
An usually dry August also lead to two other brush fires in the Plainville area that same afternoon, officials said.
According to Gordon County Fire Chief David Hawkins:
A resident was burning trash in a barrel when an ember escaped and ignited brush nearby.
The Gordon County Fire Department was able to send to four firefighters, along some
Forestry Commission personnel to distinguish the blaze on Riverbend Road.
“We were able to keep four structures from burning there,” he said.
The other fire was located near the Gordon County/Floyd County line in a resident’s back yard.
Floyd County firefighters responded to that situation. The fire was located off Scott Lake Road and was contained within an hour, according to Floyd County Fire Chief Gordon Henderson.
Henderson said he was unsure of the cause, said it was probably burning trash.
Gordon County is one of the 54 counties in Georgia that has been under a ban on outdoor burning since May, Hawkins said.
The ban lasts until Sept. 31 and failure to comply could result in up to $3,000 in fines, according to the Environmental Protection Agency website, www.epa.gov.
Hawkins advises residents in these bone-dry conditions to be careful and to not burn anything. According to the National Weather Service, there is no chance of rain for the next few days, but there is a 20 percent chance of rain this weekend, beginning Saturday.
You have no battles with these few CRITICS for they serve No-one but THEIRSELF.
There are nothing but praises surrounding you and each department(County or City)(Paid or Volunteer)whom dedicated their efforts to control and stop the fire. Point blank your mission was accomplished.
Thank you all for the amazing job that you have done!!!
72% is down from nearly 85% over the past two decades.
"Blame it on the changes in society: longer commutes, two-income households, year-round youth sports, chain stores that won't release workers at midday to jump on a firetruck. Blame it on new folks in town who don't even know the department is volunteer. Blame it on stricter training requirements."
Volunteer firefighters are a wonderful thing and a great service, but paid fire departments are an absolute necessity in today's world.
Thanks,
Calhoun Times
Now the fire is out and no one or no structure was damaged. Our Firemen were able to get this under control without injury or structural damage. Right now houses are being burned to the ground in OK and TX because of a similar situation. Sounds like our local responders did a great job.
Adjourn!
"Currently Gordon Co. has ALL their trucks at the scene, plus volunteer...". City of Calhoun was assisting.
Am I the only one who sees a glaring problem with that?! What fool made that decision? While all resources were tied up fighting Bubba's field fire, the entire rest of the county was in grave danger. What if another home caught on fire with children or elderly inside that couldn't escape? Guess they would just perish...because all hands need to be on deck for the grass fire, and no units were available to respond. What if there was a masssive accident and people were trapped in burning cars? What if one of the schools was on fire? Guess they would perish as well... because all personnel were tending to Bubba's field. Truly amazing this decision was made and 50,000 citizens were left unprotected! I can't believe this! Whoever made that decision should be FIREd!!!
Also, I'm not buying the "tractor hit a rock" crap. If it's going to be covered up, come up with something that's at least a real possibility. Why is there "gasoline" in the middle of a field where a tractor is mowing? Give me a break!