ARLINGTON, Vt. (AP) -- A series of brush fires burned roughly 100 acres in Arlington and Sunderland.
Most affected were areas near the intersection of Routes 7A and 313, a field off Old Depot Road, and at Camp Ondawa in Sunderland, where someone first reported a fire at about 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Forest wardens for the two towns estimated flames charred about 100 acres and threatened at least one home, a business and a school that was closed for the week. There were no injuries.
''Every 10 years, Arlington gets a 100-acre fire,'' said Arlington Fire Department Chief Jamie Paustian, looking over a field of ash. ''This is this one.''
Officials believe the fires started when sparks from a passing train ignited grass in dry fields and partially forested areas within an 8-mile span from the Manchester-Sunderland border to almost the Arlington-Shaftsbury border.
Nearly 100 firefighters from throughout the region responded and were dousing and ''mopping up'' fields for several hours while local and state police rerouted traffic on a hot spring day.
It was the worst area fire officials had seen since a fire ravaged a forest in nearby Sandgate in the mid-1970s.
Although some trees caught flames and had to be cut down Tuesday in an area just west of Warm Brook, officials were able to quickly contain the fires.
Sunderland Fire Warden Paul Ennis said the train, which was heading south, likely had a brake or a wheel that was sending sparks flying onto the dry areas.
But train engineer Steve Dike and conductor Bill Fay said they had reviewed the vehicle for problems and found no issues. They said the train's exhaust system may have been the culprit.
The train operators travel about once a week from Rutland to North Bennington to make a delivery of corn, soy beans and grain at Whitman's Feed Store Inc. They also travel to drop off some lumber in Manchester.
