Roughly half of a small Missouri town burned Saturday after a wildfire spread quickly from a farm field and destroyed or heavily damaged 23 buildings.
Less than 100 people live in the town.
No one died and only one person was taken to a hospital for an injury that was not life-threatening, but the entire town of Wooldridge had to be evacuated Saturday because of the fire.
Firefighters from 50 fire districts responded to a statewide mutual aid call to a blaze affecting 3,000-3,500 acres.
The Cooper County Fire Protection District arrived on Saturday to extinguish a natural cover fire only to encounter a blaze that would engulf much of the area. Low humidity and high wind speeds of 25-35 miles per hour caused the fire to grow at a rapid rate, affecting nearby farmland and land owned by the Big Muddy Fish and Wildlife Reserve, the News Tribune reported, quoting a press release.
I-70 was closed for more than two hours due to heavy smoke.
