FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Fire crews responded to a large structure fire at an abandoned church off of Martin Luther King Blvd. in Fayetteville near Lowe's Thursday (Oct. 22).
The site is home to a former church, but several campsites have recently sprung up around the building.
Traffic coming into Fayetteville from Farmington was moved through the turning lane on MLK as crews had to get in and out of a narrow road to battle the flames.
Chief William Watts, with the Fayetteville Fire Department, told 5NEWS the building was engulfed by fire when crews arrived. Since the structure is so far away from the road, Chief Watts said the closest water supply was several yards away.
"When units arrived, they found an abandoned building that had heavy fire involvement. Obviously, traffic was a little bit of a hindrance. We obviously apologize for having to shut that major thoroughfare down for several hours, but we had to establish a water supply that several hundred feet from here to battle this fire," he told 5NEWS.
At this time, investigators do not believe anyone was inside the structure, and it's unclear what started the fire.
