1,500 acres burn Sunday in Campbell County capping hectic weekend

GILLETTE (WNE) — More than 1,500 acres of land burned Sunday during a series of fires in Campbell County, capping a weekend in which firefighters took almost 60 calls, including one caused by a plane crash Friday and another that destroyed multiple homes Saturday.

Campbell County firefighters responded to about 16 calls regarding fires across the county Sunday. All of the fires have been contained as of Monday, and were determined to have been caused by a severe storm Sunday evening, either directly from lightning or strong wind knocking over power lines and fueling smaller fires.

All of these fires are in the wake of a hectic weekend for the fire department, after a plane crash killed seven and burned 38 acres of land on Friday and a large grass fire destroyed multiple homes and vehicles on Saturday.

The fire department responded to almost 60 calls over the weekend, considered "well above average," according to a Campbell County Fire Department Facebook post.

Given the number and scale of fires, firefighters were spread thin containing the fires.

"When there's multiple fires dispatched, we try to send the appropriate amount of resources for that incident," said Fire Marshal Stewart Burnham. "As more calls come in from other fires, we either draw the necessary firefighters from the county or from other incidents based on size. We try to use all of the resources we have throughout the county, then redirect firefighters as needed."

These resources, though stretched thin, contained the fires throughout the night.

No one was reported hurt from the fires on Sunday.

This story was published on July 29, 2024.