Brush fire burns 50 acres

February 28, 2001

Brush fire burns 50 acres

By DAVE McMILLION / Staff Writer, Charles Town

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Firefighters from seven departments battled a brush fire that burned about 50 acres along Brucetown Road near Middleway, W.Va., Wednesday afternoon.

The fire started while a man was burning brush on his property, said Ed Smith, chief of the Independent Fire Co.

Winds increased, which caused the fire to spread into a field at about 3 p.m., Smith said.

At one point, the winds became so strong that the fire was blown across the road and into another field, Smith said.

"The good thing is that it was fields and not woods," Smith said.

The fire threatened a couple of buildings, but firefighters managed to cut off the fire before it reached them, Smith said.

Firefighters were at the scene for about 2 1/2 hours, Smith said. Firefighters from Jefferson and Berkeley counties in West Virginia and Clarke and Frederick Counties in Virginia responded, officials said.

Statewide restrictions on open burning go into effect today, Smith said.

Under the restrictions, open burning can not be conducted until after 4 p.m. and fires must be extinguished by 7 a.m. the following day, Smith said.

The restrictions are put in place because of the windy conditions that are starting to develop and because grass is still brown and dry, Smith said.

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