Collaboration Snuffs Out Forest Fire in Pennsylvania

Jed Kaurich credited the quick response by area firefighters for stopping the spread of a forest fire Thursday between Altoona and Fall Creek.

"It could have been a lot worse," said Kaurich, a forest ranger with the state Department of Natural Resources. He estimated the fire burned about 1 1/2 acres.

Firefighters from Township Fire Department, which covers the Eau Claire County towns of Brunswick, Pleasant Valley, Seymour, Union and Washington, were dispatched to the blaze in a pine forest east of Altoona at 10:53 a.m. Thursday.

The fire was east of Riverview Drive, about a quarter-mile north of Pine Road near the Lincoln-Washington town line.

Kaurich, who works out of the Augusta ranger station, arrived after Altoona and Township firefighters and saw flames 2 to 8 feet in the air. He had his department launch an airplane to give firefighters on the wooded ground an "eye in the sky."

At about 11:40 a.m. the fire was reported to have grown from a half-acre when it was first discovered by a neighbor to about 1 1/2 acres in size.

"It sounded like it was going pretty good," said Jason Knecht, assistant Altoona fire chief, as he coordinated the response. "It took us a while to get there."

Firefighters from the Fall Creek Area Fire District, which covers the towns of Lincoln and Ludington and the village of Fall Creek, provided additional manpower. In addition to hoses, firefighters used heavy equipment to battle the blaze.

"It's dry, but we were lucky we had just enough rain," Kaurich said as firefighters sprayed down the charred ground nearby.

Had it been a normal summer with more rain, the fire wouldn't have burned as well, he said.

Kaurich expects firefighters will have to return to the scene for several days to make sure the fire doesn't reignite.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

With conditions being dry, Kaurich advises people to not burn unless they have to, and if they do burn or have a campfire, they should make sure it's out cold -- meaning the ashes are cool to the touch -- before leaving.

Copyright 2012 - The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service