Controlled Burn Gets Out Of Control On River Road

A controlled burn got out of hand south of Fairbury’s historic lime kiln Sunday afternoon.Fairbury Rural Fire Department was paged at 1:41 p.m. on Sunday, January 26, 2025, to a fire in the vicinity of 714th Road and River Road. Anticipating difficult access for full-sized fire apparatus due to ridges and uneven terrain, mutual aid was requested from Jansen Rural Fire Department for an additional side-by-side vehicle.Upon arrival, firefighters were led by the landowner up to the top of a ridge to access the “head” fire. The fire department encountered the blaze expanding across short-grass pasture ground, with low flames and a relatively slow rate of spread. Occasional gusts and directional shifts of wind did cause the fire to run at times. According to Assistance Fire Chief Barry Schwab, “We attacked the flanks of the fire and the head, from side-by-sides and on foot, from within the already-burnt areas (what we call “the black”). Our biggest concern was a large stand of trees on the ridge that the fire was moving toward. We were able to control the most active parts of the fire within about 30 minutes of arriving on location, and within another 15 minutes or so, we had fully stopped the spread of the fire and felt comfortable calling it contained.”Personnel remained on scene for another hour-and-a-half to conduct some burnout operations. “There were a few large brush piles along the fireline that had not yet burned, so that process was expedited to ensure full control of the incident. Schwab estimated about five to seven acres of land were unintentionally burned, “In all, we had about 15-18 firefighters respond from both departments.”All apparatus were finished at the incident and fully back in service before 4:30 p.m.

Elmer Kleine

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