To stream News 8 on your phone, you need the News 8 app.
Next up in 5
Example video title will go here for this video
Next up in 5
Example video title will go here for this video
PRINCETON, Ill. — Crews are responding to a large fire northeast of Princeton in rural Bureau County on Wednesday afternoon.
News 8 was at the scene. According to Walnut Fire Chief Bobby Miller, the initial report was of a small fire burning brush before the wind picked it up and caused it to spread. Crews got to the scene around 3 p.m. A map of where the fire broke out can be found below.
Miller said no injuries have been reported. He said they responded to a brush fire on Tuesday, but that Wednesday’s was more uncontrollable.
Miller said the Ohio Volunteer Fire Department is the main agency responding, with assistance from departments in Princeton, Walnut, Wyanet, Spring Valley, Malden, Lemoyle, Manilus, Amboy, Sublette and Mendota. The Bureau County Emergency Management Agency is also at the scene.
At least 100 acres were impacted, Miller said, with spots left to burn out. The fire approached a house but was knocked out quickly.
“There was some fire that was within 10 feet of the main house right at the entrance, and then about a mile from here another house, the fire got to the back wall, and the back wall caught fire but we were able to extinguish that rather quickly so it didn’t take the rest of the building,” Miller said.
News 8 spoke with the property owner, who said the area is not farmland but is part of the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program. The owner said she doesn’t know how the fire started. She and the habitat manager do controlled burns every few years, but nowhere near the size of this fire.
Our team received several photos and videos showing a large plume of smoke in the area north of Dover.
The entire News 8 viewing region was under a Red Flag Warning Wednesday due to dry conditions, low humidity and wind gusts. The Ohio Volunteer Fire Department just posted on Facebook Wednesday morning, urging folks not to burn.
source
