Wildfire Rages On Near Mayhill
With more than 4,500 acres, burnt to a crisp, the Mayhill Fire rages on in the Lincoln National Forest. The bad news, officials said Tuesday, the fire was only 10% contained and strong winds were making efforts difficult. The good news, officials said it does not appear to be burning toward any more homes.
“Looks to me like maybe a half-mile from the house,” John Conner said, as he watched the fire from his backyard.
Conner, a retired forest ranger, is keeping a close eye on the fast-moving whirlwind of smoke swallowing the sky.
“These guys are here to help me if something goes wrong – the bad part is, right now I don’t have water,? Conner said.
For as far as the eye can see, the ground in scorched and feels hot to the touch. There are plenty of hot spots located no more than a couple hundred feet away from the small town of Mayhill.
“It got very close to Mayhill,? Beth Mitchell, incident commander for the fire, said. ?It burned right around the northern perimeter of Mayhill.”
A growing plume of dirty-brown smoke is seen quite a distance away from homes, but two houses, now destroyed to nothing, show the path the fire traveled.
“That lady went to work yesterday morning, name’s Hilda Baine, went to work yesterday morning and got a call that everything’s gone,” Conner said.
Hot spots are randomly scattered. But in a sea of black, another house is pristine and untouched.
“That?s always the number one concern of course, people first and then properties,? Mitchell said.
The fire ignited near a cemetery, officials said. Residents told ABC-7 downed power lines may have sparked it, and we saw crews repairing them Tuesday afternoon in the area the fire is believed to have ignited.
“If people aren’t careful with what they’re doing or you have power lines in this case that crossed, then you’re going to get that spark that causes it,” Conner said. ?That?s part of living in the mountains, you just have to learn to live with it.”
The Mayhill fire has destroyed three homes and three other buildings, Mitchell said, but fortunately, no people have been injured. All evacuations have been lifted.
