I was off work on November 19th and resting up from my November trip to Arkansas when I heard Potosi Fire Department calling for assistance from a huge brush fire on Hwy 185 south of Sullivan in the Pea Ridge State Forest, a few miles south of Indian Creek Valley. I drove out to take a few photos and video for Sullivan Independent News and wound up staying a little while, talked to the Fire Command Officer on the scene for a bit, he is a Richwoods Firefighter and he gave me some information on some old mines in the area as well. When I first walked up, the smoke was heavy and acrid in the air, the fire had burned right up to Hwy 185 and firefighters had their hands full trying to prevent it from crossing over due to extremely high winds. The fire had apparently started a quarter mile west down a gravel road into the state forest, and stretched along Hwy 185 another mile to the south as well…St Clair Fire Department had their newest brush truck on scene and an open cab pumper from Richwoods was behind it…

…soon after shooting the initial photo above, I spotted firefighter friends Jacob Dace and Josh Hinson, armed with leaf blowers, entering the forest on the right side of the photo below, to put a second fire line in around this fire…it jumped their original line and would jump it several more times while I was there, due to the high winds…

…they put this line in and then had to back out due to the extreme heat and wind…after Jacob talked to Fire Command a bit, they tried putting in yet a third line around the right flank again…

The Fire Command Officer at this location helped with holding the line several times when the wind started howling once again….

About an hour into my stay there, Missouri Conservation Department arrived with a flatbed truck transporting one of their dozers, and the operator went down the north side of the forest to put a safety line in on that side of the highway first…

Fires 2020-1119 Brush 1st Alarm AVI 71

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Fires 2020-1119 Brush 1st Alarm AVI 81

I assisted with traffic control on the north end of the fire scene, mainly helping traffic turn around and go back to Hwy A to get around the scene. I did see Sullivan`s crews before I left the scene and the next week I drove down to Potosi and saw the fire had extended a mile down the road on that west side of the highway in several areas. Potosi was wise to call for assistance that day.

I rolled up on a vehicle accident on September 25th after hearing sirens, and spotted a pickup truck in the median of westbound 44 just west of the James K. Schatz Memorial Bridge over 44…Sullivan Fire and MoBap EMS were on scene with several troopers and I still do not know what happened here but this pickup was severely damaged on the front passenger side…

Around 9 am on August 25th, I heard Sullivan Fire Department dispatched to a semi trailer fire on EB I-44 at the 227 mile marker, so I took the North Service Road and spotted heavy brown and white smoke from a mile away….

and was pulling up to park seconds later, Sullivan Firefighters were working the fire and struck a first alarm, summoning St Clair Fire Department to the scene as well…

…and I spotted a good friend of mine, Michael Richardson with Franklin County Sheriffs Office, on the scene assisting with traffic control as well…

Firefighters were shorthanded but doing great work at the scene, they were having a difficult time getting into the trailer to the seat of the fire, so Jacob Dace started cutting his way into the trailer with the K12 saw….

and soon firefighters were again attacking the fire….

…and about 15 min later, additional Sullivan firefighters arrived with manpower and water, and St Clair arrived as well….

…and the fire inside the trailer flared up once again….

Sullivan Fire Chief Eric called for Chuck`s Towing to respond and Chuck`s son Louis, showed up with their newest fleet wrecker and assisted with removal of the load of freight to assist in fire extinguishment…Louis is quite talented in removing freight and vehicles both…

Great work by all !!