With no rain in sight and the McKean County Commissioners
meeting today to consider a burn ban for the county, the weekend
brought a few more wildfires to the area.

Bradford City firefighters responded to a brush fire at 2:19
p.m. Sunday on East Main Street, above the water tank off South
Kendall Avenue.

According to a member of the fire department, the cause of the
fire is under investigation, and the fire burned about a half-acre
of leaves on top of the ground and some trees. The owner of the
property is unknown, but no one was hurt.

Five city firefighters and 10 volunteers from the Derrick City
Volunteer Fire Department responded to the fire. Derrick City also
provided mutual aid with a utility truck. Engines 1 and 2 and the
chief’s car responded to the blaze.

Firefighters were on scene for about an hour.

The Derrick City Volunteer Fire Department also responded to a
small brush fire of their own about 11:30 a.m. Sunday at 360
Derrick Road.

According to a member of the fire department, an individual was
burning brush when the fire spread, burning about a half-acre. No
one was hurt in the blaze, and the owner of the property is
unknown.

Eleven volunteers, a utility truck and an engine responded to
the scene. Firefighters were on scene for about 1 1/2 hours.

On Saturday, the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department also
responded to a large wildfire at 2:57 p.m. in the area of the Jakes
Rocks Overlook in the Allegheny National Forest, Warren County.

According to Clarendon Captain Terry Gregerson, the fire is
believed to have started when a tree fell on a high tension
electric line, but no one was hurt. The fire was called in by a
spotter plane, and somewhere around 20 acres burned, with heavy
damage to laurel and oak trees on forestry land, according to
Gregerson.

Gregerson said Denny Kirkpatrick of the state Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources out of Warren was in charge of
handling the fire, and Kirk Bowley of the U.S. Forest Service was
also on scene. About 40 to 50 firefighters responded from the
Pleasant, Sheffield and Glade volunteer fire departments from
Warren County and Lafayette Township and Corydon Township volunteer
fire departments in McKean County.

Gregerson said the American Red Cross provided firefighters with
food, and the U.S. Forest Service was going back to the scene
Sunday to do a clean-up of the site.

Firefighters were back in station at 10:45 p.m.

Meanwhile, just over the border things are also dry, with the
Allegany (N.Y.) Engine Co., responding to a wildfire at 3:20 p.m.
Sunday on 3328 Morgan Hollow Road in Allegany, N.Y.

According to District Fire Coordinator Gary Wuethrich, the fire
was called in by a New York state trooper driving by the scene.
Wuethrich said the fire started from a burn barrel, but he was
unsure if anyone was home or not.

No one was hurt, and the fire spread uphill, burning about 8 to
10 acres of woodland, which Wuethrich said was owned by an unknown
party. Firefighters were able to put the fire out by shoveling
water back and forth up the hill from a brush truck. Wuethrich said
they used water from a nearby pond to fill the tankers on
scene.

About 65 firefighters from five fire companies, including
Allegany, the Hinsdale Volunteer, Westons Mills, Limestone
Volunteer and Town of Olean fire departments, responded to the
scene. There was also 11 pieces of equipment on scene, and the
Portville Fire Department stood-by at the Allegany station.

Wuethrich said most of the firefighters were back in station by
6:30 p.m.