A brush fire that threatened nine homes in Madison Heights on Saturday was mostly extinguished Sunday night.
Firefighters planned to stay through the night Sunday to monitor hot spots and make sure the fire in the area of Beck Creek and Kentmore Farm roads did not re-ignite, said Gary Roakes, Amherst County’s director of public safety.
No homes were damaged in the blaze and the nine displaced families returned to their homes off Round Mountain Loop late Saturday night.
The brush fire grew to about 400 acres before firefighters with Monelison, Amherst, Gladstone and the Virginia Department of Forestry could contain it. The Amherst County Sheriff’s Office, the county’s department of public safety and the Monelison Rescue Squad assisted.
The fire, Roakes said, began as a controlled burn, but got out of hand. The rough terrain made it difficult for firefighters to contain the blaze, but low winds and good weather conditions Sunday aided the firefighters.
Roakes said Virginia’s burn laws are still in effect through Thursday, requiring any controlled burn to be done after 4 p.m. He also asked that when residents burn leaves and debris to make sure there is a water source nearby, that there is plenty of open space around the fire, that it’s not around trees or wood lines and to make sure the fire is out before leaving it unattended.
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