Fire Spreads Quickly Across Pasture in High Wind Conditions

BY MELANIE BUCK –

Mena Fire Department responded to an out-of-control burn on Tuesday afternoon, March 8, 2017, and requested mutual aid from Dallas Valley Volunteer Fire Department. The call came in to 911 dispatch just after 1 p.m. on Tuesday that a controlled burn had gotten out of hand across from the Mena School District Bus Barn.

Fire fighters used water to quench the flames, while forestry used a dozer to make a defensive line around the fire, which was located on a hilly pasture area behind a row of homes on East Boundry Road in Mena. The flames also reached a wood line on the backside of the property.

The fire began after embers from a burn pile blew into the pasture, which was covered in dead vegetation, causing the flames to spark, even after a night of moderate rainfall. It was almost 3 p.m. when firefighters cleared the scene, after battling the blaze in high wind conditions.

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Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

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