Multiple first responders are working to contain a 100-acre fire in Lawrence County.

LAWRENCE COUNTY, Mo. (KY3) – Emergency crews in Lawrence County spent Monday afternoon battling a massive 100-acre fire.

According to Lawrence County Sheriff Brad DeLay, first responders received a call around 12:30 Monday regarding a fire in the area of ​​Highway FF ​​near Highway K and Highway 39.

“It was literally like lighting a match and throwing it into gasoline because it took mere minutes for it to spread across all 100 acres,” Sheriff DeLay said.

Sheriff Delay says the burned field is being used for biofuel production.

“Essentially, crops are harvested here to produce biofuel. So obviously it was already something hot. This is what they used to make fuel for vehicles, farm implements, etc.,” Sheriff DeLay said.

Sheriff Delay says he was one of the first to respond and noticed the flames were six to ten feet high and approaching power lines in the area. About ten fire departments provided mutual aid to fight the flames, totaling about 100 firefighters. The sheriff says fire crews used about 50,000 gallons of water.

Less than three miles away, Steve Wageman watched smoke rise high into the air.

“I knew it had to be a very fast-moving fire because the smoke was so high in the atmosphere. So it was very, I knew it was very big. And of course, the wind is 30-40, gusting miles an hour,” he said.

“We spent about three hours trying to contain it and put it out. We think we probably have about 100, maybe a little over 100 acres left that are basically gone. And fortunately, because of the quick response and the ability to work with all of these other agencies, we kept the situation from getting any worse,” Sheriff DeLay said.

Sheriff Delay says the fire spread across the highway at times, but firefighters and farmers in the area were on standby with trucks full of water.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

“I couldn’t imagine anyone burning in that atmosphere,” Wageman said.

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