Rogers Fire Department suspects an arsonist started a brush fire that burned about five acres of land near 34th Street and Wray Drive on Sunday afternoon.
Captain Rob Taylor said firefighters were able to contain the fire in about an hour using two brush trucks, one-ton trucks that carry 300-gallon tanks of water that allow easier access to off-road fires. Taylor said when fire crews arrived on the scene, there were three or four separate fires, including one that covered one acre.
While Taylor determined the size and scope of the fire, a crew began to put out the nearest fire. Taylor called into a second unit, which brought in the second brush truck.
“It was getting hard for us to reach because how heavy the brush was,” Taylor said. “We didn’t know how big the fire actually was.”
Taylor said there were several other hot spots where it looked like a fire was started but didn’t ignite, probably because of the small rainfall Rogers had earlier Sunday morning. Taylor said the area was mostly brush but had several large trees and plenty of knocked down or dead limbs on the ground.
“We got it knocked down pretty quickly,” Taylor said. “We were able to get on it quick enough.”
