Fire companies from numerous companies battled a stubborn brush fire Tuesday afternoon in Lower Towamensing Township.

Wes Keller, forest fire specialist supervisor, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry, said the fire was reported sometime after noon in a remote field and heavily wooded area between Hahns Dairy and Drift roads.

Keller said that upon arrival, the fire was moving through the hardwood litter pretty fast through the greenbrier and the pines.

“The smoke was so thick that we couldn’t drive the road to the lower field,” Keller said. “Once we got to the upper field, we were basically dealing with fire in a 360-degree circle.”

Keller added, “It was kind of difficult to manage at first. We didn’t have enough help.”

“We flew two airtankers and helicopter, and used the Weiser Forest District’s Support Crew, among other resources from the state,” he said.

Keller said several volunteer fire departments from Carbon and Monroe counties also assisted at the scene, where they remained until around 6:30 p.m.

“The fire was in total about 55 acres, 35 acres of switchgrass, the remainder of hardwoods,” he said. “The cause (of) the fire was equipment used during the harvesting of the switchgrass.”

There were no injuries and no structures damaged, Keller said.

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for dry conditions today. The warning ends at 9 p.m.

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