Brush Fire Burns For Over Three Hours on Route 71

A brush fire on Sunday afternoon spread a thick layer of black smoke in the rear of the 7200 block of Route 71, said the Oswego Fire Protection District.

The OFPD was called in at 1:33 p.m. and did not manage to put the entire blaze out until about 5:00 p.m., said Battalion Chief Jeff Warren.

The fire happened in the rear of the block in what Warren described as a “marshy area.” There were 10-15 acres of 8 foot-tall cattails along with the marsh, he said.

Due to the climate, the fire department could not get their trucks out into the marsh and had to fight the fire with fire extinguishers that held 2.5 gallons of water.

Warren thanked all of the surrounding departments for their help in fighting the fire, including Bristol-Kendall, Plainfield, Little Rock and Newark, and Montgomery for manning the Oswego station during the incident.

“The important thing is nobody was hurt,” Warren said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.