Lightning Likely Cause for Multiple Conway County Fires
By: Josh Berry
Updated: July 8, 2012
All but two counties in Arkansas are under a burn ban as of Sunday (7/8) night. The entire state remains in extreme wildfire danger.
Despite rain received over the weekend, at one point there were 11 wildfires burning in just in northern Conway County.
With every wildfire the state has encountered, hope for rain is mention from nearly everyone affected.
It's a catch-22 however.
Rain clouds blocked the sun and it's heat Sunday, but with that rain came lightning, which fire crews said likely started one of the wildfires near Cleveland.
"We were really thankful to get the rain but unfortunately lightning had to come with it," said St. Vincent Fire District Chief, Charles Gangluff.
Dozers scored the land creating lines to prevent the fire from spreading any further, because once the fire started it quickly consumed well over 100 acres.
It's all land used by Green Bay Packaging who grows timber there used for a paper and saw mill.
Land Manager, Gary McKinney said, "Anytime you're burning the little trees we have planted, that's affecting our future."
15 years down the road, they would have cut the trees. That's a loss then and now because they have to replant come Winter time.
The company owns about 240,000 acres across the state of Arkansas. It's a small chunk but they know it could have been worse.
McKinney said, "We're very fortunate we got a lot of folks that jump in here and help us fight these fires."
Like the volunteer fire departments, who are becoming all too used to these fires.
Cleveland Fire Department Chief, David Hull said, "The fire we had last weekend and this one has been two of the biggest fires we have seen in Cleveland's area."
He said in his 18 years with the department, he's never seen conditions quite this severe.
While it may have been the rain that started it, they know they may have very well been fighting a fire Sunday anyways.
"We were thankful to get the rain while we were fighting the fire," said Chief Hull.
In an area like this it can be a pretty big fire before anybody ever sees it.
Mike Curtis with the Arkansas Forestry Commission said they were behind before they even got started and they'd still be in the thick of it without that decent amount of rain.
"It was going to be bad but the rain helped us quite a bit," said Curtis.
The Forest Commission's Central Dispatch said they responded to 10 wildfires Sunday and they confirmed four of them were started by lightning.
Despite rain received over the weekend, at one point there were 11 wildfires burning in just in northern Conway County.
With every wildfire the state has encountered, hope for rain is mention from nearly everyone affected.
It's a catch-22 however.
Rain clouds blocked the sun and it's heat Sunday, but with that rain came lightning, which fire crews said likely started one of the wildfires near Cleveland.
"We were really thankful to get the rain but unfortunately lightning had to come with it," said St. Vincent Fire District Chief, Charles Gangluff.
Dozers scored the land creating lines to prevent the fire from spreading any further, because once the fire started it quickly consumed well over 100 acres.
It's all land used by Green Bay Packaging who grows timber there used for a paper and saw mill.
Land Manager, Gary McKinney said, "Anytime you're burning the little trees we have planted, that's affecting our future."
15 years down the road, they would have cut the trees. That's a loss then and now because they have to replant come Winter time.
The company owns about 240,000 acres across the state of Arkansas. It's a small chunk but they know it could have been worse.
McKinney said, "We're very fortunate we got a lot of folks that jump in here and help us fight these fires."
Like the volunteer fire departments, who are becoming all too used to these fires.
Cleveland Fire Department Chief, David Hull said, "The fire we had last weekend and this one has been two of the biggest fires we have seen in Cleveland's area."
He said in his 18 years with the department, he's never seen conditions quite this severe.
While it may have been the rain that started it, they know they may have very well been fighting a fire Sunday anyways.
"We were thankful to get the rain while we were fighting the fire," said Chief Hull.
In an area like this it can be a pretty big fire before anybody ever sees it.
Mike Curtis with the Arkansas Forestry Commission said they were behind before they even got started and they'd still be in the thick of it without that decent amount of rain.
"It was going to be bad but the rain helped us quite a bit," said Curtis.
The Forest Commission's Central Dispatch said they responded to 10 wildfires Sunday and they confirmed four of them were started by lightning.
