Late night blaze shows fire is still a threat
Published 12:24 pm Thursday, November 9, 2023
- A wildfire burns on Autrey Lane in east Lincoln County Wednesday night. (Submitted Photo | Chris Reid)
NOLA — Lincoln County Volunteer Fire Fighters and the Mississippi Forestry Commission battled a blaze out near the Nola community late into Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. The fire was finally contained around 3 a.m. Thursday morning.
Mississippi Forestry Commission estimates they worked to contain 107 acres. Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency Director Chris Reid said the acreage estimate could go up today. Volunteer firemen worked on several small fires around the big section of fire.
Reid said they were going back out to check the area and put out any fires that had started up again around noon.
Preliminary investigation shows the railroad may have sparked the fire but the cause of the wildfire is yet to be determined.
Another fire was quickly extinguished this morning in Fair River. Reid said the call for it came in around 5:30 a.m. Lincoln County remains under a burn ban until further notice.
“Even though we are forecast to get rain this weekend we are still under a burn ban,” Reid said. “Conditions are still favorable for fire to spread. We ask people to please not burn.”
Drought conditions remain exceptional according to the United States Drought Monitor. It will take a substantial amount of rain for the burn ban and drought conditions to be lifted.