ROGERS — A fire spread quickly over dry brush and grass in a ravine near Lake Atalanta about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. The dangerous blaze threatened at least three homes and a barn near Lake Atalanta, firefighters said.
“It was going fast,” said Battalion Chief David Whitlow. “Everything was ready to burn.”
Steep terrain, dry conditions and freezing weather slowed firefighters, said Fire Chief Tom Jenkins. Some hose lines froze and had to be thawed, he said. Rogers was about 20 degrees when the fire started, according to the National Weather Service.
Smoke, visible from downtown Rogers, engulfed the neighborhood as firefighters rolled out about 600 feet of hose to fight the 3- to 4-acre fire. The smoke billowed above houses.
“I saw smoke coming up from the lower part of our property, and I saw it turned to flame,” said Kevin Carter, whose home at 822 N. Summit Drive was among those in danger of burning. “I knew something had gone wrong.”
Carter was among two people who said they called 911. Next door, at 824 N. Summit Drive, Maria Doss, a nanny, said her heart was racing as she watched the fire creep closer to the home where she was watching a 10-month-old baby. Doss called for help and began packing in case she needed to flee the fire.
The fire was under control by about 1:30 p.m., Jenkins said. Six fire units and an ambulance were sent to Summit Drive, Whitlow said.
About 30 minutes after firefighters were called to North Summit Drive, firefighters received another call about a fire at 316 W. Locust St. Two people were home when the attic began to smolder, then catch fire, Jenkins said.
The two fires depleted most of Rogers’ reserve to cover fires in the city, Jenkins said.
At A Glance
Fire Bans
Fire bans are in effect for most of Arkansas, including Benton and Washington counties. Firefighters said Tuesday a grass fire spread rapidly in Rogers because of dry and windy conditions. The state is at a high level of wildfire danger.
Source: www.arkfireinfo.org
Lowell sent a fire engine to Rogers to help cover the city as firefighters took on the two blazes. Bentonville sent two fire engines to help with the Locust Street fire, but Rogers firefighters managed to put out the fire in about 10 minutes, Jenkins said. The Bentonville trucks were canceled, he said.
The house at Locust Street had about $10,000 in damages, Jenkins said. The fire was electrical, he said. No one was injured.
At Summit Drive, neighbors continued to gathered outside to watch firefighters work. Doss stood outside on the porch and shouted “Thank you! Thank you!” to firefighters who packed up hoses. Doss said firefighters saved homes by responding so quickly.
The fire likely started from an ember or spark from a flue, but the official cause remains undetermined, Whitlow said. Although the Fire Department has no official cause of the fire, Doss and others said they thought the fire was man-made. People should follow the rules, Doss said.
Benton County remains under a burn ban with an elevated fire risk, officials said. Gusty wind expected today will mean more fire risks, according to the weather service.