Large Brush Fire Spans Nearly 20 Acres

MCHENRY, IL —The quick and aggressive actions of local firefighters are being credited with preventing a fire in a large field from spreading to nearby buildings, fire officials said.

The McHenry Township Fire Protection District was called to the blaze at about 4:10 p.m. Thursday in the 600 block of Arbor Circle in Lakemoor, according to a news release.

Three fire trucks, two brush trucks and an all-terrain vehicles specialized in woodland firefighting were called to the scene. Strong winds fueled the blaze, and firefighters had to fight the fire on foot with hand tools and backpack-style water fire extinguishers.

The area also had steep hills with knee-high brush and several tree lines, according to the news release.

"Eventually, a specialized ATV equipped with a fire pump was used to assist in extinguishing the remainder of the fire. It took approximately one hour to extinguish the fire fully," according to the news release. "Due to the aggressiveness of the firefighters, the fire was fully extinguished before damaging any nearby structures."

About 20 acres of land had burned before the fire was fully extinguished.

There were no injuries, and the fire's cause is not yet known, according to the news release.

In addition to receiving mutual aid from the Nunda Rural Fire Protection District at the fire scene,
the Spring Grove Fire Protection District and the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District assisted in
handling the other simultaneous ambulance calls that were occurring in the district during the
fire, fire officials said.