A forest fire continues to burn out-of-control Thursday afternoon in a state park in Ross County.
The fire ignited at around 7 p.m. Wednesday evening and quickly grew to nearly 50 acres by midnight inside Tar Hollow State Park, near Poes Run Road. Local fire departments from numerous counties battled the blaze until early morning on Thursday, making little progress. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources sent the firefighters home at around 3 a.m., citing dangerous conditions.
ODNR’s Division of Forestry (DOF) said they are making progress to contain the fire on Thursday, but that it continues to grow in size.
“The slow-moving fire, in the southern part of the forest, burned about 40 acres,” said ODNR spokeswoman Stephanie O’Grady. “A bulldozer is in place putting a fire line around the burning area to protect buildings at the bottom of the hill. No people or structures are in danger right now.”
ODNR monitored the fire overnight and throughout Thursday. The fire is expected to be fully contained by the end of today, they said.
A specialized drone team was sent in from the Fairfield County Sheriff’s office to assist in aerial assessment of the fire.