FIVE FIRES KEEP RURAL FIREFIGHTERS BUSY IN COUNTY

Five fires across Cape Girardeau County on Tuesday gave firefighters one of their busiest days this year.

Two grass fires, two forest fires and another involving railroad ties occurred within a few hours of each other, the Cape Girardeau County sheriff's office reported. A number of fire departments responded to a fire three miles south of Delta on Highway 25 that started among trees. Another fire occurred in trees off of Bloomfield Road near Springwood. Grass fires occurred along County Road 316 near Gordonville and County Road 508 in north county. Union Pacific railroad ties also caught on fire near Delta.

At the fire near Gordonville, 911 dispatchers asked firefighters to respond to separate locations on county roads 319 and 316, said John Sachen, training officer with the Delta Fire District."Because you had people all the way around seeing it and reporting it, you couldn't assume that is was just one fire," Sachen said.

Firefighters from Jackson, Delta, Millersville and Gordonville responded to the fire, which was first reported about 11 a.m., Sachen said.

It started as farmers had cleared an area to burn off debris, said Roger English, chief of the Gordonville Fire Department. "They had used their discs on their tractors to cut an area around it, but because of the wind it jumped out of the containment area," English said.

The farmers had started the fire before the Cape Girardeau County Commission issued a restricted burn order on Tuesday, he said.

The fire covered an 80-acre area of rolling hills and farm fields, English said."It was crossing creeks and streams, which made it harder to pursue," Sachen said.

Just as a staging area was being set up to handle the fire near Gordonville, another fire was reported along railroad tracks near Highway 77 by Delta, Sachen said. The fire involved about a half mile of uncut weeds, bushes and other growth, along with railroad ties. Firefighters from Jackson, Millersville and Gordonville responded, Sachen said.

Then, about the time that fire was brought under control, another was reported behind a rest area on Highway 25 southwest of Delta. Twenty-eight firefighers responded, including departments from Whitewater, Advance, Oran, Chaffee, Marble Hill, Delta and New Hamburg-Benton-Commerce. Fifteen people from the Missouri Conservation Department assisted along with sheriff's deputies, ambulance personnel and area farmers, Sachen said.

The fire burned along Hickory Ridge, covering multiple acres, he said."Back when everything here was swamps and bogs, Hickory Ridge was the only dry spot," Sachen said.

No injuries were reported at any of the fires, although one firefighter at Hickory Ridge was treated for heat fatigue.

Members of the Conservation Department used a bulldozer, and fire trucks were dispatched to four homes in the immediate area of the fire as a precautionary measure, Sachen said.