Burn notice
By Gary Popp
Published in News on February 21, 2011 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/BOBBY WILLIAMS
Firefighters from Arrington, Dudley, and Mar-Mac were dispatched to a grass fire endangering a structure at 212 Beaver Drive in Carraway Creek off Genoa Road Sunday morning. The fire completely destroyed a single wide mobile home own by Jonathan Wise. The second home involved was located at 210 Beaver Drive, and was owned by Donna Register. According to the fire report, Wise's home and contents were valued at about $25,000 and were a total loss. Mrs. Register's home was valued at about $48,000 and sustained about $6,000 in damage to the exterior of the home. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Firefighters were on the scene for about three hours along with EMS Station 8. No injuries were reported.
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News-Argus/BOBBY WILLIAMS
Three mobile home were damaged by fire in Melodie Wood subdivision off Old Grantham Road Sunday afternoon.
GRANTHAM -- Two Sunday afternoon fires fueled by the high winds, low humidity and unseasonably warm temperatures that cover much of the state damaged six Wayne County homes.
A trash fire apparently fanned by a gust of wind damaged three homes in the Grantham area Sunday afternoon, while a similar fire in the Mar Mac community damaged three mobile homes.
No one was injured in the fires.
Both blazes appeared to have been caused by fires fanned by the winds that escaped from control burns even though state officials have asked people not to burn outdoors because of those conditions.
The conditions have been made worse by the dry leaves and grasses that will ignite easily due to drought conditions and winds that will allow fires to spread quickly.
Dozens of personnel are battling a fire in Warren County that has covered more than 1,000 acres. Firefighters have battled both small and large blazes across the state, including nearly 300 fires on Saturday.
The National Weather Service recommended that people postpone outdoor burning until Wednesday or later.
Three mobile homes in the Melodie Wood subdivision off Old Grantham Road were damaged by a fire believed to escaped from a burn barrel.
Firefighters from Mar-Mac, Thoroughfare, Grantham and Dudley were dispatched to the scene.
That also appears to be the case in the Grantham fire after a man lost control of a trash fire contained in a barrel in his back yard. The fire began at a residence on the 300 block of Linen Lane and spread to two homes in the 100 block of Orchestra Lane.
"The grass caught fire, which spread to a fence, then, to the other homes," Mar-Mac Fire Chief Bill Harrell said.
The man burning the trash caused damage to his home's vinyl siding, an out building and fence, Harrell said.
The fire ignited the property fence, then spread to the two neighboring homes, he said. Dry grass acted as a conduit to ignite the other homes. The home nearest to where the fire originated suffered the most damage.
"The fire climbed from the grass to the top of the house and reached into the roof and attic space," Harrell said.
Harrell estimated Damages totaled $10,000 and $15,000 to the neighboring homes.
Harrell said one of the houses that caught fire was vacant and up for sale. Firefighters from Mar-Mac, Thoroughfare and Grantham fire departments responded to the fire.
"They did a super job of taking care of the fire and keeping it confined to a few rooms," Harrell said.
Harrell asked community members to use caution when making fires on their properties.
"It is important for people not to burn when it is dry and, especially, when it is also windy," he said. "People are wanting to get out and clean up with the summer-like weather we are having, but people just need to be careful."