Crews battling massive fire in Douglas County since Sunday
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Mo. – Extreme wind speeds on Wednesday fanned fires that are spreading too fast for fire crews to get under control.
Ozarks First was at the scene of a 5-square-mile fire in Douglas County, where firefighters have been battling a blaze for four days.
'It's fast, I mean, they can't get ahead of it,' said Sheriff Chris Degase. 'They can't get it under control.'
Several fire departments from across the Ozarks came together to put out the fire that started as a controlled burn in Douglas County.
'We are still uncertain whether anything else got set after that or if this is strictly off of that controlled burn,' Degase said.
Fast-moving fire prompts evacuations in Douglas County
Crews were battling the blaze on Sunday and were able to get it put out, but the high winds have sparked the embers every day since then, even causing the fire to jump across roads.
'These things are like whirlwinds,' Degase said. 'When I was driving down, you could see the wind spin and it's just picking the embers up, taking them to the other side of the road and starting.'
The sheriff ordered evacuations for anyone living off Highway N near County Road 325 and 333 south of Ava.
'They had to leave,' Degase said. 'There was no option about it. As heavy as the winds were, there was no guarantee (the fire departments) were going to be able to save structures.'
Crews were able to save a few properties in the line of fire, but not everything.
One person in critical condition after house fire on New Avenue in Springfield
'Property can be replaced, lives can't,' Degase said.
He gave props to the volunteers and fire crews that have been out there for four days.
'We're just trying to coordinate, get them the resources they need, try to help get food and water and do a little bit of traffic control,' Degase said. 'These guys here are they're the heroes.'
DeGase also credits the community.
'The community has been bringing in food, water, Gatorade to these guys just all day for four days,' Degase said. 'And we appreciate that. And that's just indicative of the community that we live in.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Comfortable weather for the weekend before summer-like weather returns
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Quiet weather is in the forecast for this weekend, but as we head into the upcoming work week, the chance for heat, humidity, and storms increases. We started the weekend with some cloudy skies and rain showers to the south along the state line. Because of this, we had some drizzle down towards Hillsdale and Jackson this morning with decreasing clouds as you got closer to Lansing. Today we see partly to mostly sunny skies with temperatures a little cooler than where they should be only getting into the mid-70s area-wide. Clear skies stick with us tonight with temperatures into the low to mid 50s. So we have at least one more night of open windows before using the air conditioners through the upcoming work week. Temperatures warm up for Father's Day into the low 80s with mostly sunny skies. We will also start to feel the heat and humidity increase as well. Overnight lows for Sunday remain in the upper 50s. We start to feel like summer as we head into the upcoming work week with daytime highs into the low to mid 80s with dew points into the mid to upper 60s. Heading into mid-week showers and storms return for Tuesday with the best chance to see rain looking to be Wednesday. We are closely keeping an eye on the forecast for Wednesday as there is the potential for stronger storms. Keep checking back throughout the weekend and start of the work week for more information! Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Scattered PM Storms for Father's Day Weekend, Summer Begins Friday!
FATHER'S DAY WEEKEND:We're starting out in the low 70s this morning, and with dewpoints in the low 70s, there are some areas of fog or reduced visibility. We'll see mostly cloudy skies for today with scattered afternoon and evening thunderstorms. We aren't expecting anything severe, but they could definitely pack a punch. Highs today will be in the upper 80s. Sunday, we'll see a little more sun with highs near 90, and again those afternoon and evening pop up showers and storms. NEXT WEEK:We start out with scattered showers and storms, but more isolated to stray storms by the weekend. Monday we'll see mostly cloudy conditions with scattered afternoon and evening showers and storms and highs near 90°. Tuesday through Thursday, the chance for showers and storms decreases as we only see isolated storms and highs in the low 90s. Humidity levels will remain quite highs, so heat index levels could easily approach 100°. By the weekend, the rain chances continue to decrease, although with the humidity levels still fairly high, there will be continued chances for stray afternoon an evening showers and storms. Highs will be in the low to mid 90s. Thanks for watching WRBL News 3 and have a great Saturday! – Meteorologist Brian Thomas Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Storms tonight ahead of summer-like warmth
Warm weekend Isolated storm chances Staying humid Much of northeastern Kansas will remain dry today ahead of a few scattered thunderstorms tonight. Temperatures tonight drop down into the middle to upper 60s with a partly cloudy sky and a light southeast wind. Fathers Day will start off mostly cloudy as showers and thunderstorms push south. Highs will climb into the upper 80s with low 90s in some areas. Most areas dry out past mid-day ending Fathers Day with mostly sunny skies. Humidity will also begin to build as we head into the latter part of the week. We'll start out next week in the 90s with sunny skies. Rain returns for the middle of the week next week with the chance for some isolated showers and storms across much of the area later Tuesday evening. KSNT Storm Track Meteorologist Evan Biedron Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
