Departments battle several brush fires
MERCER TWP — Firefighters from several departments responded to a series of brush fires that ignited along railroad tracks in northern Butler County starting at around 1 p.m. Tuesday.
The firefighters said they believe passing trains ignited dry brush along the Canadian National Railway Company line. But state and railroad officials said Tuesday the cause hadn't been determined and is under investigation.
“We had three in our area,” said Chief Steve Bickel of Harrisville Volunteer Fire Department.
He estimated that fires burned no more than 10 acres combined over the scattered sites. Wind spread the fire to stacks of railroad ties along the tracks.
“The brush was burning and it got into those piles of railroad ties,” Bickel said.
Firefighters drove their brush trucks and all-terrain vehicles through a farm to reach the tracks that run through a ravine adjacent to the farm. They were forced to navigate down a steep slope and through some rough terrain.
Firefighters said they heard radio reports of trackside fires stretching from Mercer County into Butler County.
“The train started in Mercer County and set fires the whole way down the tracks. They were all over the place,” said an officer with the Marion Township Volunteer Fire Department.
The Clintonville and Jackson Center departments also responded.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will determine the cause of the fires. A spokesman for DCNR did not return a message Tuesday seeking information.
Dry weather with low humidity and wind were factors in the fires, but the DCNR will talk to the railroad to help figure out the cause, said Zach St. Laurent,
DCNR fire forester for the Western Division of the Clear Creek State Forest District, who was assisting firefighters Tuesday.“We're definitely in a high fire danger yesterday, today and tomorrow,” St. Laurent said.The tracks in the Harrisville area were closed to trains because of the fire and other operational factors, but those tracks are not heavily traveled, said Patrick Waldron, a Canadian National spokesman.“We are aware of the brush fires. It's still being investigated. The cause has not been determined,” Waldron said. “It's a pretty lightly traveled corridor. There's not a lot of train traffic on it.”Freight trains with two crew members use the tracks, he said.Firefighters reached the fire through Ken Mc-Knight's farm along Route 8. McKnight said he didn't see the smoke until the firefighters told him about it.“I was fixing my tractor in front. I didn't see it,” Mc-Knight said.
