NEW LYME TOWNSHIP — A brush fire scorched nearly 100 acres of a corn field before it was doused by firefighters from nine departments Monday afternoon.
No injuries were reported and no property was damaged, although came perilously close to homes in the area, said Rome Township Fire Chief Ed Koziol.
People burning twigs and yard debris behind the New Lyme Baptist Church on Dodgeville Road inadvertently started the fire, Koziol said. Wind fanned the flames, which ripped into a 250-acre field nearby.
Assisting Rome at the scene were personnel and equipment from Orwell, Wayne, Dorset, Jefferson, Morgan, Hartsgrove, Andover and Montville in neighboring Geauga County, Koziol said. Among the departments, 18 pieces of equipment and up to 50 firefighters were at the scene, he said.
“We were successful in stopping (the fire),” Koziol said. “Everyone worked together real well.”
The fire began behind the church, continued west to Parks Road and headed south towards Windsor Road before it was stopped.
The initial call was received at 2:30 p.m., and the last truck left the scene nearly four hours later, Koziol said.
The fire occurred on land owned by Britton Farms, Koziol said. The owner used a tractor to create a break around the fire that helped slow the progress of the flames, he said.
Kathy Bates, a Dodgeville Road resident, said the fire was across the street from her house.
“Before I left for the store, I saw an old man picking up sticks and putting them on the brush pile behind the church, and I thought I hope he doesn’t light that in this wind,” Bates said.
Although Bates did not see the old man light the sticks, when she returned from shopping about 1 1/2 hours later, her road was lined with fire trucks and the whole field across the street behind the church was ablaze.
“People do not realize how dry those old corn stocks really are and how easy and fast they can burn,” Bates said. “I am so glad no one lost their house, including me.”
People reported seeing the fire as far away as Cherry Valley Township and Mesopotamia in Geauga County.
Conditions are extremely dry in the county and people need to use caution and common sense before starting fires, Koziol said
Local News
Related Photos
Discussion
Brush fire burns 100 acres
Many departments help battle stubborn New Lyme blaze
- Local News
-
-
5 homeless
Five people were left homeless Monday afternoon as fire ripped through a two story home at 1861 Footville Richmond Road.
-
Need for jobs tops county survey
Unemployment tops the list of community needs identified in a survey conducted late last year by the Ashtabula County Community Action Agency.
-
2 meth labs in 1 home
Acting on a tip, police found two working methamphetamine labs under one roof in an early Sunday morning raid at a Main Street house, said Police Chief Charles Burlingham.
-
More money woes for the Lake County sheriff
The Lake County Sheriff’s Officecut another five cars from its road patrol division last week.
-
East Sixth Street Cafe faces razing in spring
The city is tentatively set to raze the dilapidated East Sixth Street Cafe this spring, authorities said.
-
Eight indicted by grand jury
The following people have been indicted by the county grand jury. They are set for arraignment in Common Pleas Court.
-
Scamming for puppies
Pat Payment doesn’t have any puppies.
-
Commissioners hear concerns about sewers in Austinburg
Commissioners and Austinburg Township Trustees met Monday afternoon to review a lengthy punch list of items that need to be addressed before the county can accept the township’s sanitary sewer project.
-
Consultants to assess contaminated land
A consulting firm hired by the city to assess unused commercial and industrial land is fairly confident a study of the contaminated Astatic property can be properly completed, City Council learned at Monday’s work session.
-
Amputee takes one step at time
With measured breaths, Kevin Malloy stood up and began to walk.
- More Local News Headlines
-
