Gambrill State Park Fire Contained by Frederick Firefighters; Officials Urge Caution (PHOTO)

PHOTO | MD DNR

Frederick County Fire and Rescue services responded to a mountain fire at the 8800 block of Gambrill Park Road Tuesday, March 8 after several emergency calls reported seeing a “large ring of fire on the mountain.” The fire was not visible from the road and Maryland State Police Aviation’s unit assisted in locating and directing firefighters from the air.

Nearly 60 firefighters and personnel from Maryland Forest and Park Services worked to bring the five-acre fire under control. Firefighters worked until 2:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. There were no firefighter or civilian injuries and no homes were damaged as a result of the fire. The origin and cause of the fire are under investigation by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources – Forest Service.

With spring’s high winds and dry foliage, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources urges citizens to postpone open-air burnings and use caution in outdoor fire activities.

“Heavy winds combined with dead, dry leaves from winter, serve as prime conditions for a small, contained fire to quickly transform into a large inferno that threatens lives, property and natural resources,” State Fire Supervisor Monte Mitchell said. “Each year, Maryland Forest Service staff, volunteers and local fire departments respond to an average of 500 wildfires that burn more than 4,000 acres of forest, fields and marshlands.”

To learn more about wildfire safety, visit the Maryland Department of Natural Resource’s Firewise Maryland webpage.

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