ANSELMO – At 3:15 p.m., a grassfire, thought to be contained yesterday, flared up along Highway 2 at around mile marker 254.
Merna and Anselmo Fire first responded to the call, and in ten minutes, called for mutual aid to Broken Bow Fire, at 3:25. About 3 minutes later, another mutual aid call was requested to Sargent, Brewster, and Arnold Fire Departments.
When KCNI/KBBN appeared on the scene, no fewer than 15 trucks were battling a blaze that continued to spread to the north due to winds gusting to near 40 miles per hour.
Burlington Northern’s north and southbound trains were halted, one about a mile outside of Anselmo, and the latter nearly 500 feet from the spreading fire.
Aerial visual support was requested; a line was set up to blockade the flames from moving further, which included 4 water tankers. As KCNI/KBBN left the scene at 4:37, three trucks were on the way, as additional mutual aid had been requested from Ansley. As of this writing, the fire is still ongoing.
