HENRICO COUNTY, Va., — A fast-moving 75 acre brush fire Monday night left behind a scorched field and damaged property at Messer and New Market Roads.
Henrico firefighters said the flames destroyed a shed, damaged a garage, and fence line was lost in Varina.
The flames spread quickly across land bordering Route 5, near Laburnum Avenue.
“Somebody had an outdoor fire and the fire just got away from them. It just goes to show how dry these conditions are. All it took was a small ember to get away,” explained Battalion Chief Doug Reynolds.
William and Jodi Kulp own eight acres of farmland near Varina High School.
They rushed to their property after hearing news of the brush fire at 5:15 p.m. Monday. The owners of Honey Pot Farms watched 50 firefighters from several companies fight to battles the growing flames.
“I was nervous for the firemen at some points. There were guys dropping hoses and running because the fire was coming so fast,” William recalled.
Both described seeing “fire tornadoes” that shot into the air.
“It was hot. It was really hot,” they said.
A quick thinking farmer plowed a fire line in the field along New Market Road near the Virginia Capital Trail.
Jodi Kulp said they were relieved that firefighters were able to secure their property, including livestock and several baby goats.
“They were born in April so that’s what I was mostly worried about,” Kulp says. “I knew the big ones could handle themselves, but the little ones were the ones I was scared for, that they wouldn’t be able to handle the smoke, but they did.”
The Forestry Department also assisted in the takedown.
Burnt fences could also be seen against a row of houses. Chief Reynolds said crews parked a firetruck in the driveway of each home to protect the structures.
“In the way that the wind was blowing, it was really pushing it over here to these row houses. So there was a lot of concern for these houses,” he stated.
The brush fire was marked under control around 6:30 p.m. Several roadways, including sections of Route 5, remained closed to traffic for several hours.
Henrico Fire strongly urges you not to burn outside this week due to high winds and dry conditions.
“Just be extremely careful with any discarded cigarettes, any cooking that you're doing with charcoal or anything like that. Anything you go to dump, you got to make sure you spray that water out and make sure [the fire] is completely out before you leave,” Chief Reynolds said.
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