On one of the warmer, and windier, days of the year so far volunteer firefighters from Brown County and nearby counties were out battling a multi-acre brush fire this weekend.
Units from multiple counties assisted all six volunteer fire departments in the county with an estimated 30 to 40-acre brush fire on March 5.
The call came in at 1:35 p.m., after an ember was carried by the wind from a barrel with burning cardboard at a home on Green Valley Church Road.
The ember was caught in dry leaves and quickly became a brush fire. The blaze was fought by members of all six fire volunteer fire departments along with units from Bartholomew, Johnson, Monroe and Morgan counties.
Brown County Volunteer Fire Department Chief Nick Kelp said on March 7 it was one of the largest fires local volunteer firefighters have had to battle in the county in the last five years. No structures were damaged in the blaze.
One firefighter was transported by ambulance for a medical issue, but was OK after being checked out, Kelp said.
When talking about fire precautions, Kelp said that even if the ground is muddy from recent rains that does not mean it is OK to burn fire on windy days like this weekend. A fire can still happen.
What responders watch for when preparing to respond to brush fires is temperatures that reach above 60 degrees, minimum wind gusts between 10 to 15 miles per hour and a relative humidity of below 20 percent.
With wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour and a high of 75 degrees on March 5, Kelp said responders in the county figured there would be fires reported that day.
He said that he would discourage people to start any sort of fire when there are high winds.
There were seven fires reported and responded to in the county on March 5, all occurring during a six-hour window.
First responders were busy once again on March 7 dealing with the aftermath of a storm that brought heavy rainfall and strong winds. Flooding throughout the county resulted in Brown County Schools closing March 7.
Jackson Township Volunteer Fire Department posted on their Facebook page that firefighters had responded to a water rescue following the storm. The department encouraged residents to not try to drive through high water.
Brown County Emergency Management Agency Director Susan Armstrong said storm damage was reported on Ford Ridge Road and that information was forwarded to the National Weather Service, but that NWS had not confirmed any tornadoes in Brown County or surrounding counties.
Armstrong said floodwater in the county was “high flowing” the morning of March 7. Before the sunrise, there was a concern residents would come across flowing water on roads while driving to work, so Armstrong placed the county in a yellow travel advisory, the lowest level, at around 6:30 a.m. The advisory was moved back to green by the afternoon as floodwaters receded.
