Raging grass fire fatigues firefighters

A grass fire in southern Pottawatomie County burned about 40 acres Thursday and fatigued nine firefighters from several departments as they battled the blaze in wooded areas and ravines.
Tecumseh Assistant Fire Chief Aaron Williams said crews from Tecumseh, Asher, Macomb and Earlsboro battled the blaze that started in the 42000 block of Fairview Road, a few miles east of U.S. 177.
The fire burned about 40 acres, and although it wasn’t a large fire, the blaze took off into heavy wooded areas and ravines, Williams said, so firefighter fatigue was high during their suppression efforts.
No homes were threatened, he said. The blaze started alongside the road so firefighters believed it might have been sparked by a discarded cigarette, he said. Firefighters are urging extreme caution as fire conditions remain high. Pottawatomie County, along with Seminole and Lincoln counties, remains under a burn ban. A large grass fire also was reported in the Seminole area Thursday.
Thursday morning, firefighters and emergency officials were on the scene of a small gas spill in Macomb. Mike Potter, emergency management volunteer, said a driver filling tanks at the Macomb gas station along SH 59B spilled about eight gallons of gasoline.
The Department of Environmental Quality was called out to advise on the clean-up. There were no problems reported with the spill and clean-up, although children from the nearby Macomb School were not allowed to leave the campus and go over to the convenience store for lunch, he said.
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Kim Morava may be reached at 214-3962.