Firefighters Control 120-Acre Blaze In Chattaroy Fire Ignited Fears Of Disaster As Flames Threatened 20 Homes
It took over 100 firefighters to battle a fire that burned more than 120 acres here Saturday afternoon.
A thick, gray pillar of smoke hovered for three hours as flames destroyed two outbuildings and threatened 20 residences. No one was evacuated.
“It was really going,” said Doris Carlson, a District 4 firefighter. “The trees were crowning, the wind was blowing hard. There was multicolored smoke - a lot of smoke. A lot of fire.”
Firefighters initially feared the worst, recalling two separate fires more than a week ago that charred a combined 1,800 acres. Rural residents also were worried; some scrambled to bring their animals to safety as police and firefighters blocked off several roads.
Officials are still investigating the blaze that started at about 2:30 p.m. in the Prairie Roads area, between Elk and Chattaroy. Firefighters appeared to have controlled the flames around 6 p.m. and hoped to contain the fire by midnight.
“We’ve got pockets of unburned fuel inside the fire line,” said Doug Bleeker, spokesman for Fire District 9.
As the buzz of aircraft reverberated in the skies, people stood by the barricade that stopped drivers from entering the roadway. Denison-Chattaroy Road was closed temporarily, as were state Highways 2 and 395.
“I wouldn’t want his job,” said Gail Gebhardt as she watched planes with buckets of water swoop down close to the trees.
Those who couldn’t reach their homes worried about their pets as they paced along the barricade.
“Waiting is the hardest part,” said Sally Basher, the owner of six horses and two dogs.
But not everyone appeared grim. Carlson, a firefighter who raced to the scene, looked rather jolly with her pink wig, rainbow-striped pants and painted hearts on her cake-white face.
She was at a fundraiser up at Northpoint, she explained. She didn’t have her gear so she helped out at the command post.
“I don’t normally dress like this,” she said.
, DataTimes