BRADLEY COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — On Sunday, smoke could still be seen in the air after a brush fire in Bradley County first sparked on Saturday afternoon.
“First crews arrived on scene about 1:45 it had already burned about 25 to 30 acres,” said Robert Murphy with the Arkansas Department of Agriculture.
Within just a few hours, that number reached around 500, and Murphy explained that this community hasn't seen a large brush fire like this in years.
“The biggest one we've had since 2016 in Bradley County," said Murphy.
That fire that happened back in 2016 was nearly three times the size of this fire.
“1,502 I believe,” said Murphy.
Multiple agencies worked together to make sure the fire didn't spread to nearby homes.
“No structures damaged whatsoever,” Murphy added. “So, we were really lucky.”
It was all hands-on deck battling the flames, for about seven hours in total.
“They made 20 drops yesterday on this fire yesterday a little over 14,000 gallons of water,” said Murphy.
They were finally about to get the fire under control a little bit after 9:00 pm.
“It had to cross a very well-maintained wide county road gravel road and that kind of helped slow it down just enough for our crews to be able to catch up to it,” Murphy described.
Though the cause of the fire is still unknown, Murphy explained that they have a hunch.
“We do know enough to say that this fire was preventable,” said Murphy.
He also added that this wildfire should serve as a reminder to the public that they should take those burn bans seriously.
“This is the reason why. This is a result of not abiding by a burn ban,” said Murphy.
Murphy said that they'll continue to keep eyes all across the natural state in case another fire like this were to spark.
“We have crews scattered all over the state that is geared up and ready to ready to respond if need be,” he said.
Murphy explained that this fire was one of 21 wildfires that burned a total of over 2,000 acres across Arkansas on Saturday.