Firefighters from 13 departments battled a fire for four days on Malone Road in Salineville. (Photo by Kristi R. Garabrandt)

SALINEVILLE – Firefighters continued over the weekend to battle a brush fire that started in the early hours of Wednesday morning at 20410 Malone Road.

According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), trackers burned about 12 acres.

Nearly 60 firefighters from nine departments and crews from the ODNR spent 13 hours Wednesday trying to get the fire under control. Thursday, the Salineville Fire Department responded to the scene for the explosions.

Sunday marked the fourth day that multiple departments were on the scene due to the fire rekindling.

Wind, dry leaves and peat moss – along with the location of the fire and the terrain – made the fire difficult to control.

With the fire burning in a ravine, access with fire trucks and typical firefighting equipment was limited. Sidecars and utility vehicles transported firefighters and equipment to the scene.

According to ODNR Fernwood State Forest Manager Ryan Zeisler, the fire was deep in the forest, making it difficult for crews to access with water and tools. He said on Saturday evening that the fire was under control. He also mentioned that the fire was burning underground. At some point on Saturday night it rose from the ground and started burning again.

Firefighters — some on the scene for more than 22 hours — were called out Saturday night around 8 p.m. At about 2 a.m., Fire Chief Jeremiah Cole (Highlandtown Volunteer Fire Department and incident commander for the fire) sent home some of the the firefighters who responded. rest to return in the morning. Firefighters from the Highlandtown and Wellsville Volunteer Fire Departments remained on the scene through the night.

It took 58 firefighters who intervened from 13 fire departments in two counties, along with two crews and a forest administrator from the ODNR Forestry Department, to keep the fire under control.

Responding departments included Highlandtown, Salineville, Franklin Township, Wellsville, West Point, Glenmoor, Irondale, Liverpool Township, East Palestine, Fox Township, Pottery Addition, Stratton, Empire and Bergholz.

East Palestine FD provided a drone so firefighters could get an aerial view of what they were dealing with.

Zeisler said he and Cole discussed the option of using a direct attack with hand lines and wet lines or using an indirect attack with a wide perimeter and hoping it would be better.

They opted for the indirect method and laid a wide fire known as bulldozer lines along the entire perimeter of the burn zone. Bulldozer lines are wide paths with no grass or anything else down to bare ground that gives the fire nothing to keep burning on.

“Our chances of the fire behaving if anything were to restart should be low, especially if the wind isn’t around 15 mph like it was yesterday.” Zeisler said.

He emphasized all the assistance and heavy firefighting provided by the response units that were busy putting out the fires on Saturday.

The exact cause of the fire is unknown. Any further investigation would be done by ODNR law enforcement officers.

A possible investigation could take place. Zeisler and Cole want everyone to be aware of the statewide burn ban in effect.

“We haven’t had rain in a very long time and the entire state of Ohio has been in a drought for the last three months.” Zeisler said.

He also noted that with the low relative humidity leaves, grass and trees are deprived of moisture and this along with strong winds played a role in the fire.

Zeisler said it’s been a busy week for all fire departments in the state with the drought. ODNR assisted other fire departments with brush fires. On Saturday, they were at a 30-acre fire in Jefferson County near Smithfield, working on a fire containment line.

A West Virginia TV news station reported that many West Virginia counties are putting burn bans in effect immediately due to brush fires burning in Hancock, Washington and Jefferson counties and the West Virginia departments that responded to these.

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