Mid County Fire Protection District firefighters were extremely busy over the past week. Fifteen fires blazed across the district over a three-day period, pushing the strength, endurance and patience of firefighters to the limit.
The district’s first call came at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27 to Wagon Trail Road, off Highway 54. Arriving crews found a raging wildland fire. Mutual aid was called in from the Camdenton Fire Department. Firefighters built a fire line with water hoses and blowers and were able to extinguish the fire within two hours. Approximately four acres burned. MCFPD and Camdenton both responded with two firefighters and one apparatus. According to MCFPD Fire Marshal Joe Brant, the fire was started by a resident burning trash that let the fire get out of control. Fire Marshal Brant was in charge of operations on Saturday, due to MCFPD Fire Chief Scott Frandsen being out of town.
MCFPD was again toned out at 2:10 p.m. on Saturday to a fire call on Mount Horeb Road. According to Fire Marshal Brant, the call reported a cabin in eminent danger. “The report was not accurate,” Brant commented. Due to MDFPD firefighters being busy fighting the Wagon Trail Road fire, Lebanon Rural Fire Protection District was requested to provide mutual aid. Lebanon Rural could not locate the Mount Horeb fire, but while investigating the report, they found a large wild land fire burning off D Road.
Lebanon Fire Protection District firefighters attacked the fire by back burning with fire lines and brought this fire under control within two hours. According to Fire Marshal Brant, it is believed the fire was started by high winds igniting the embers of a trash fire burned by property owners the previous evening. Approximately 15 acres were burned. MCFPD responded with seven firefighters and four apparatus. Lebanon Fire provided four firefighters and one apparatus.
While at the scene of the D Road fire, MCFPD received their third emergency fire call of the day at 2:50 p.m. to Kirby Road, north of Camdenton. Since MCFPD firefighters were tied up with other fires, they requested mutual aid from the Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District, SBFPD. SBFPD firefighters arrived on the scene to find a small brush fire threatening a structure. Firefighters created a fire line and the fire was brought under control in 40 minutes. SBFPD responded with four firefighters and one apparatus. Less than one acre burned.
MCFPD firefighters were called back to the Wagon Trail fire at 3:23 p.m. According to Brant, the fire had jumped a fire line, igniting a wild land. Arriving firefighters put in new lines and back burned, extinguishing the fire in approximately one hour. MCFPD responded with three firefighters and two trucks. One acre burned.
While fighting the Wagon Trail fire the second time, MCFPD was toned out a fifth time to provide mutual aid for the Northwest Fire Protection District due to a natural cover fire, with one reported structure in eminent danger. Unfortunately, due to MCFPD firefighters simultaneously battling multiple fires, they were unable to respond to this call.
The district was then toned out, for the sixth time, at 4:30 p.m. to investigate a report of smoke off Mount Horeb Road. It was discovered the original fire they worked on Saturday night on D Road had ferociously reignited. Firefighters commenced the most difficult attack of the week traversing rugged up and down terrain, carrying heavy equipment and building fire lines three miles deep into the woods from Mount Horeb Road to the Spencer Creek area. This was also extremely dangerous since firefighters were working in the dark.
As of Wednesday, March 2, the district was still calculating property loss caused by this fire. At that time, they estimate approximately 200 acres burned. No structures were involved. The conservation department utilized bulldozers to further clean up the area. MCFPD responded with five firefighters and three apparatus. The MDC responded with three agents and two apparatus. They left the scene early in the morning at 12:30 a.m. The cause of the fire is under investigation. “Either a tree fell across the line, or someone deliberately set it,” Brant surmised.
While working the Mount Horeb Road fire, MCFPD firefighters were called to a seventh fire at 5:24 p.m. on north business Route 5, just outside of the city limits of Camdenton. It was reported that children had started a grass fire while shooting fireworks and a structure was in danger. Two trucks and five firefighters were dispatched and cancelled enroute as the property owners brought the fire under control by themselves. Approximately five acres burned.
