A controlled burn by a landowner near the 3000 block of Wing Shooter Trail near Huntley blew out of control Sunday evening. Wind whipped the flames up the side of the hill.
This fire twister, also known as a fire whirl or fire tornado, was captured while flames were marching up a hill between Shooters Bluff and Shadow Canyon area in Huntley during the Easter Day brush fire. It is an indication of unstable air in the atmosphere. A big watch out situation for wild land firefighters. These can cause the fire to spread fast in unpredictable directions, according to Retired Caption Robert Guenther of the Lockwood Fire Department. (Photo by Robert Guenther, retired caption of the Lockwood Fire Department)
Multiple agencies and fire departments start to contain the Easter Day fire that originally started from a controlled burn in in Huntley. (Jonathan McNiven photo)
Calling on resources from the fire departments from Worden, Shepherd, Laurel, Lockwood, Hailey Bench, Blue Creek, and the DNRC, the fire flared up into the night. Neighbors rallied to assist with digging a trench around properties in order to prevent the fire from spreading. A number of nearby residents from the Buffalo Bluffs and Shadow Canyon subdivisions hauled water in their personal trucks to assist with the fire.
At least 40 firefighters from the multiple agencies battled the fire, assisted by county road graders and a bulldozer. Working all night and throughout the following day, the fire was fully contained by Monday evening. The blaze burned between 20-25 acres, but no structures were burned. Officials issued a Code Red earlier on Sunday warning nearby residents to prepare for possible evacuation, but as firefighters got a handle on the fire, evacuations were not deemed necessary.
A Worden Fire Department firefighter takes to the ground to put out flames as the Easter Day Fire in Shadow Canyon in Huntley makes it’s way up a hill towards the Shooters Bluff area on Sunday. Six different agencies responded to the controlled burn that got out of hand. (Photo by Robert Guenther, retired caption of the Lockwood Fire Department)
