At approximately 2:51 p.m. on April 8, the Wapello County Rural Fire Department responded to a report of smoke in the Garrison Rock area. When crews arrived, they encountered a fast-moving fire that had spread through a large section of timber and CRP land.
Because of the fire’s intensity and wind conditions, with gusts reaching 20 to 30 mph, additional help was quickly requested from neighboring departments, including Agency Fire and Rescue and the Eldon Fire & Rescue Department. As the blaze continued to grow and proved difficult to contain, more mutual aid was brought in from the Blakesburg Fire-Rescue, Eddyville Volunteer Fire Department, Hedrick Volunteer Fire Department, and Batavia Fire Department.
Firefighters from all responding agencies worked together for several hours to gain control of the fire. Their coordinated efforts ultimately contained the flames before nightfall. In total, the fire impacted an estimated 50 acres of timber and 10 acres of CRP land. Approximately 55 firefighters were involved in the response, remaining on scene for more than six hours.
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