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High Winds Fan Several Brush And Structure Fires Around Nation's Capital
WASHINGTON - Firefighters have contained several blazes in the mid-Atlantic region that forced evacuations, knocked out power and prompted an advisory for some residents to boil their water, officials said Sunday.
(PGFEMS/Jim Davis photo)
Winds Cause Fires In Region
Windy, Dry Conditions Lead to Dozens of Fires
Brush Fire Shuts Down I-95 For Hours
Germantown, Md. Brush Fire
No deaths have been reported, though at least four firefighters were treated for minor injuries. Several homes, businesses and other structures in the Washington region were damaged.
Strong winds and dry conditions made the blazes tough to extinguish, with firefighters still working to put out some hotspots Sunday morning.
Six fires in Virginia's Prince William County scorched about 300 acres and led officials to evacuate 60 people from homes. The worst fire was in a neighborhood where a tree had been blown over onto a power line. Some were still without power in the area, though that should be restored Sunday, county officials said in a press release.
Crews used so much water that water pressure fell to dangerous levels, leading officials to issue a boil-water advisory that was still in effect Sunday morning. All the fires in Prince William County were under control by Sunday.
In Maryland's Prince George's County, more than 600 acres burned. Interstate 95 was temporarily shut down in Laurel, Md., when a fire jumped into the highway's median. Officials in Virginia also shut down I-95 for a time Saturday when smoke reduced visibility.
Prince George's fire crews were still working to completely contain two fires. One destroyed 250 acres, 2 homes and several other abandoned homes in Clinton. The other was at a mulch plant in Laurel, where 300 acres burned as winds pushed the flames from pile to pile of mulch.
The high winds, with gusts reaching 55 mph in some areas Saturday, posed problems across the region.
In Washington, strong winds toppled the National Christmas Tree, a Colorado blue spruce that had stood on the Ellipse just south of the White House since 1978. The tree was turned into mulch Saturday afternoon, and a replacement tree has been chosen and will be planted sometime in the spring, said Bill Line, a spokesman for the National Park Service.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Related
NBC Washington: Wind-Fueled Fires Scorch Region
WTTG: Windy, Dry Conditions Lead To Dozens of Fires
WJLA: High Winds Cause Wildfires, Road Closures, Power Outages, Fli...
WUSA9: Wind Causes Problems For Firefighters In Southeast
WUSA9: Firefighters Battle Brush Fire In Germantown
WUSA9: College Park House Destroyed by Wind Fanned Flames
PGFEMS: Wind Driven Blaze Destroys College Park Home
Iron Firemen: High Winds Fan Fires Across Va.
STATter911: One Of The Busiest Days In PGFD History
STATter911: High Winds Slam MD, DC & VA
(PGFEMS/Jim Davis photo)
Winds Cause Fires In Region
Windy, Dry Conditions Lead to Dozens of Fires
Brush Fire Shuts Down I-95 For Hours
Germantown, Md. Brush Fire
No deaths have been reported, though at least four firefighters were treated for minor injuries. Several homes, businesses and other structures in the Washington region were damaged.
Strong winds and dry conditions made the blazes tough to extinguish, with firefighters still working to put out some hotspots Sunday morning.
Six fires in Virginia's Prince William County scorched about 300 acres and led officials to evacuate 60 people from homes. The worst fire was in a neighborhood where a tree had been blown over onto a power line. Some were still without power in the area, though that should be restored Sunday, county officials said in a press release.
Crews used so much water that water pressure fell to dangerous levels, leading officials to issue a boil-water advisory that was still in effect Sunday morning. All the fires in Prince William County were under control by Sunday.
In Maryland's Prince George's County, more than 600 acres burned. Interstate 95 was temporarily shut down in Laurel, Md., when a fire jumped into the highway's median. Officials in Virginia also shut down I-95 for a time Saturday when smoke reduced visibility.
Prince George's fire crews were still working to completely contain two fires. One destroyed 250 acres, 2 homes and several other abandoned homes in Clinton. The other was at a mulch plant in Laurel, where 300 acres burned as winds pushed the flames from pile to pile of mulch.
The high winds, with gusts reaching 55 mph in some areas Saturday, posed problems across the region.
In Washington, strong winds toppled the National Christmas Tree, a Colorado blue spruce that had stood on the Ellipse just south of the White House since 1978. The tree was turned into mulch Saturday afternoon, and a replacement tree has been chosen and will be planted sometime in the spring, said Bill Line, a spokesman for the National Park Service.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Related
NBC Washington: Wind-Fueled Fires Scorch Region
WTTG: Windy, Dry Conditions Lead To Dozens of Fires
WJLA: High Winds Cause Wildfires, Road Closures, Power Outages, Fli...
WUSA9: Wind Causes Problems For Firefighters In Southeast
WUSA9: Firefighters Battle Brush Fire In Germantown
WUSA9: College Park House Destroyed by Wind Fanned Flames
PGFEMS: Wind Driven Blaze Destroys College Park Home
Iron Firemen: High Winds Fan Fires Across Va.
STATter911: One Of The Busiest Days In PGFD History
STATter911: High Winds Slam MD, DC & VA
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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I realize that fires of this magnitude have been fairly rare in the past few years in the MD/DC area, but we used to have similar large fires in the Washington County/Fredrick County area all the time in the 1970's.
The wind didn't cause the fire then, either, Doug. :-)
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Permalink Reply by ashfire on
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The one thing was that a volunteer fire company in Prince George's County lost a 1964 Ford Young brush unit to the flames one of the brush fires in the county. The unit became stuck and was over runned by the fire.
A few years ago they lost a CJ5 brush unit to another brush fire when it over turned on a hay bale.
The two units worked together on all the brush calls they ran.
The have a 2009 Ford 4x4 that replaced the CJ5.
One thing was the county fire chief called in all off duty career and volunteer personnel when the calls kept coming in.
Crews and apparatus responded from different counties of Maryland, Virginia and cities of Washington DC and Baltimore.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Ward on
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you sure it was the 1964 Ford or the 2009 Ford that replaced it last year?
(Even Statter misses one or two tidbits :) )
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Permalink Reply by capcityff on
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From what I was told by some friends that were actually there the winds DID cause some of the fires. A few started from power lines that were knocked over onto houses. Several other fires were arson.
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They said it was the Young that burned up on Breaking News. It was listed as BR36 where the 2009 is BX36. I have been waiting for someone to post a picture to be sure. I just wonder if they will replace it.
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