Mobile home burns, hawk causes grass fire
Mobile home burns, hawk causes grass fire
26 July 2007
published by www.tomahjournal.com
Tomah, USA – The Oakdale Fire Department responded to a mobile home fireWednesday night and a grass fire earlier that afternoon. The causes are believedto be power strips and an electrocuted hawk.
Our staff is really stressed this time of year with so many fires and suchintense heat, said Fire Chief Gordon Fick. We use the buddy system a lotto check on each other. Youve really got to thank these volunteers.
The mobile home on Hwy. 21 was completely engulfed in flames when the firedepartment arrived on scene at 11:40 p.m. with a staff of 35 firefighters, twocounty officers and the Tomah Area Ambulance Service.
Residents said their fish tank had broken and they had several fans running todry out the carpet. Chief Fick said the fire appeared to have started near acomputer station with a power strip and many cords plugged into it.
A fire west of Tomah started a little after 2 p.m. Wednesday from a hawk thatgot electrocuted on a power line. Local residents reported a power glitch, butit was a local fireman who spotted smoke from his own house near JacksonvillePass.
After being electrocuted, the hawk landed in tall canary grass, which startedfire and burned about two acres. Though the fire didnt destroy much, ChiefFick said it was difficult to contain and very dangerous in such dry grasses andhot temperatures.
It looks like fowl play to me, said Chief Fick to the DNR staff onthe scene. Its rare we see these types of fires – sometimes from asquirrel, but we have to share the land with the animals.
