WALLACETON, Clearfield County -- A brush fire sparked by a passing train destroyed several outbuildings along Laurel Run on Friday afternoon.
Just about every fire company in Clearfield and half of Centre County's responded to the blaze, which spread to several hundred acres before it was contained, according to Philipsburg Fire Chief Jeff Harris.
A plane on contract to the state's Bureau of Forestry dumped at least 6,400 gallons of water on the blaze while firefighters battled flames on the ground.
No injuries were reported.
The first companies were dispatched about 4:15 p.m., Harris said, and found flames spreading through the underbrush next to the train tracks. By 7 p.m., firefighters had gathered in clumps at various points along the street, monitoring the few patches of flames.
"We still have some heavy fire," Harris said Friday evening.
"We're letting it burn itself out so we don't have to get into the heavy brush."
It was a much different scene than when firefighters first arrived at Laurel Run to find rolling smoke and lots of flames. Resident Jim Osewalt said he heard the train pass and looked out his back window, only to see smoke filling his back yard.
"I tried to put it out with the garden hose, but I couldn't keep up with it," he said.
"It was about hopeless."
At first, Osewalt couldn't get through to 911. When he did, he was told firetrucks were on their way.
Several of the outbuildings on his property were burned, but firefighters managed to stop the flames before they threatened his house.
Officials think the fire was caused when a train threw sparks as it traveled along the rails.
Wayne Wynick, an assistant district forester with the state's Bureau of Forestry, said the recent dry weather and low humidity helped feed the fire and caused it to spread quickly.
"Burning conditions are almost extreme," he said. "Any potential source would have sparked something like this."
A red-flag warning was issued Wednesday but has since expired for all counties in central Pennsylvania. The warning means forest fire danger is categorized as very high. Because of the dry conditions, the Centre Region Code Administration will not issue open-burn permits. On Friday, Clearfield County Commissioners passed an open-burn ban.
Homeowners in the region are urged not to burn debris or trash.
They should also remove leaves and debris from around homes and cabins.
