Woman injured in grass fire that burned 40 to 50 acres near Manchester
Firefighters assess the scene of a brush fire started by a burn pile that burned 40 to 50 acres of land Tuesday afternoon at Sharon Hollow and Herman roads in Manchester Township.
Jeffrey Smith | AnnArbor.com
One woman was injured in a massive grass fire that left between 40 to 50 acres in Manchester Township black and smoldering Tuesday afternoon.
Two or three sheds also were destroyed in the fire, which caused just less than an estimated $10,000 worth of damage, Manchester fire Chief Bill Scully said.
Huron Valley Ambulance spokeswoman Joyce Williams said medical personnel treated a woman who had attempted to fight the fire. The woman was the only person injured.
Fire crews from numerous departments were dispatched to Sharon Hollow and Herman roads at 2:47 p.m., according to Manchester Township Fire Department officials.
The fire was started from someone burning trash at a nearby residence, Scully said.
"It got away from them," he said.
The fire threatened homes in the area. It took firefighters from Columbia Township, Clinton Township, Sand Lake Township, Napoleon Township, Chelsea and Manchester about two hours to beat back the blaze, but it was under control before it could cause any major damages to the homes.
Scully described the land affected as vacant, open fields between the homes. There were no crops involved, he said.
Firefighters were still on the scene around 6 p.m. Tuesday making sure the fire didn't re-ignite.
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
OLDTIMER3
Wed, Jul 11, 2012 : 12:54 p.m.
@ tru2blu76 it is local news after all. So the news did the right thing in reporting it. And @ Ann , If you looked close the crops near Joy road are suffering but not as much as around here as they had quite a bit of rain in the last week and a half. @ mbill, The grass hasn't been damp in the morning in weeks unless it was from lawn sprinklers.Or a few drops of rain.
tygerlil22
Wed, Jul 11, 2012 : 5:18 a.m.
This happened in my backyard and I can't THANK all the fire fighters involved enough for the tremendous job that they did. It could have been a lot worse and the fire came pretty close to some of the houses. I really hope my neighbor does get a fine and his wife (who was the women taken to the hospital) is okay.
mbill
Wed, Jul 11, 2012 : 3:27 a.m.
In the heat of the day, low humidity, some wind, drought, sure it'll burn. Try early in the morning when the grass is wet.
Elmer White
Wed, Jul 11, 2012 : 2:33 a.m.
It's so hot and dry, why burn trash or touch off fireworks? I saw a robin this morning, looking around for a worm, and he was wearing Oven Mitts on his little claws! Then I saw a dog following a cat. He was not running! Both the cat AND the dog were WALKING!!! Farmers are feeding ice cubes to their chickens so they don't lay hard-boiled eggs!!! Geeze Folks! RESPECT this H-O-T Weather!!!
grimmk
Wed, Jul 11, 2012 : 12:05 a.m.
I hope Tru2Blu76 doesn't post about how trite and trivial this is compared to the Colorado fires. That being said. I really hope the people who started this fire are held accountable.
Tru2Blu76
Wed, Jul 11, 2012 : 6:11 a.m.
I can't imagine why anyone would object to me or anyone posting a VALID COMPARISON. Get a little perspective: this was a trivial event. And since it happened 25 miles from Ann Arbor, one can legitimately question why this trivial event was covered by AnnArbor.com. Of course, you had to weigh in with a trivial and inaccurate verbal jab at me - so we all know now what "lights your fire." LOL!
jcj
Tue, Jul 10, 2012 : 11:23 p.m.
A couple weeks ago, before we got any rain. I saw smoke coming from a woods near Scio Church and Wagner.I went to investigate and it was in a mowed portion of the woods at a church.There was what appeared to be a younger and older man burning a brush pile. I assume they were maintenance workers for the church. They had managed to get it under control when I drove up so I moved on thinking these are not the type of people I would want doing chores around church!
Cash
Tue, Jul 10, 2012 : 11:08 p.m.
Wow, burning trash in this drought. Smart.
Craig Lounsbury
Wed, Jul 11, 2012 : 11:39 a.m.
my thoughts exactly.
Ann English
Tue, Jul 10, 2012 : 11:07 p.m.
Good to hear about townships in other counties pitching in; since Manchester Township is at the southwestern border of Washtenaw County, Jackson and Lenawee Counties border IT. Napoleon Township sounds like it fits Jackson County, with a city named Napoleon in that county. Glad no crops were involved; I just drove past lush-looking green crops on both sides of Joy Road yesterday. And I see we're importing cherries from Washington State, due to the mild spring and dry summer. We don't need the insult of a fire added to these injuries described above.