“It’s going to be hard to sleep”: Multiple fire agencies respond to forest fire

MOUNT VERNON, Ala. (WKRG) — More than 20 firefighting units responded Tuesday afternoon to a forest fire on the North and South sides of Coy Smith Highway.

Nearly 200 acres of land felt the impact of the fire including Vickie Holt’s backyard.

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“It’s scary,” Holt said. “It could jump and with the wind blowing like it is, jump and just come over here and take everything that we have.”

Holt says she first learned about the fire around noon and called the Mount Vernon Police Department immediately. However, her granddaughter Naomi learned about it at school.

“I was scared because I didn’t know where it was until they said it was down here by my house, so I was scared,” Naomi said.

Fire departments from Mobile County, Washington County and Clarke County responded to the fire. This was a coordinated effort supported by the Mobile County EMA, Mobile County Communications District, Alabama Forestry Commission and Alabama Enforcement Agency.

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Drones were used to help pinpoint the hotspots of the fire and two bulldozers were utilized to create fire breaks.

However, this comes just days after the AFC issued a fire alert.

“We urge folks not to be burning right now because it is optimal conditions for a fire,” Sharee Broussard with Mobile County said. “In this part of the county, it’s a lot of woodland, and so it can easily spread.”

Holt told News 5 that this is not the first time she has seen her community on fire, but it is the worst so far.

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Although the majority of the fire has been contained, the small flames are what makes Holt nervous for the night ahead.

“It’s going to be hard to sleep; I’ll be watching it,” Holt said.

No structures or homes have been damaged, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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