What to know about Wooldridge wildfire, rash of natural cover fires in mid-Missouri
WOOLDRIDGE — Roughly half of a small central Missouri town burned Saturday after a wildfire spread quickly from a farm field and destroyed or heavily damaged 23 buildings, authorities said.
The fire was the most severe in a rash of natural cover blazes in mid-Missouri since Friday, including multiple in Columbia.
No one died and only one person was taken to a hospital for a non-life-threatening injury, but the entire Village of Wooldridge in Cooper County had to be evacuated Saturday because of the fire that was started in a nearby field by a combine that was harvesting crops.
Ten people were displaced overnight and housed at the Open Bible Praise Center in Boonville, local officials said.
A stretch of Interstate 70 was forced closed for nearly two hours Saturday evening, around the same time the University of Missouri's Homecoming football game concluded, because heavy smoke reduced visibility to zero, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
All lanes of I-70 were closed between Rocheport and Boonville from around 6:30 p.m. to shortly after 8 p.m., temporarily shutting down the Missouri River bridge as traffic was rerouted.
'It's devastated': Firefighters say half the town of Wooldridge is burnt
Cooper County Fire Protection District spokesman Jim Gann said Sunday that between 3,000 and 3,500 acres burned before the fire was brought under control. Firefighters were working Sunday to keep hot spots under control with strong winds forecast in the afternoon.
Wooldridge is a town of less than 100 people about 20 miles west of Columbia along the Missouri River.
Stephen Derendinger, an engineer with the Jamestown Rural Fire Protection District, said half the town is burnt.
“It’s devastated,” Derendinger said.
Firefighters were able to save the Wooldridge Baptist Church, Wooldridge Community Club and post office as they pumped water from swimming pools to help battle the blaze.
At 3:16 p.m. Saturday, the Cooper County Fire District was dispatched to the incident, it said in a news release Sunday. First responders found multiple structures involved with a rapidly growing fire being pushed by winds of 25 to 35 mph.
"The high wind speeds and low humidity caused the fire to spread quickly to nearby structures and into heavy dry vegetations in nearby farmland and into lands belonging to the Big Muddy Fish and Wildlife Reserve," the release said.
The fire stretched from just south of Wooldridge all the way to I-70 to the north, with heavy smoke looming.
Over 50 fire departments responded as part of the state's mutual aid system, including from Boone County.
Bulldozers from Greis Excavating of Boonville, The Lunda Team (contractor for Missouri River bridge construction) and the Missouri Department of Conservation helped suppress the fire in the Big Muddy Reserve.
Multiple natural cover fires impact mid-Missouri, including two in Columbia
The Missouri Division of Fire Safety issued a warning Saturday morning about the risk of natural cover fires after multiple blazes around the state Friday.
"Natural cover fires in Missouri on Friday put property, civilians and firefighters at risk," the division wrote on social media before 8 a.m. Saturday. "There will be critical fire conditions Saturday due to low humidity, extremely dry vegetation and windy conditions. Avoid all activities that could spark a fire."
Shortly before the Wooldridge fire, Columbia Fire Department and Boone County Fire Protection District crews worked together Saturday afternoon to battle the second large natural cover fire in City of Columbia limits within 24 hours. The fire crews worked to extinguish a 60-acre "heavy brush and timber fire" on Blue Ridge Road between Rangeline Street and Providence Road. Several north-central Columbia streets were temporarily closed due to poor air quality.
On Friday evening, local crews responded to a 35-acre natural cover fire near Green Meadows Road and Gray Oak Drive that generated substantial smoke in south Columbia.
The Boone County Fire District said Saturday night that weather over the weekend neared "red flag warning" conditions. Officials strongly encouraged no burning.
"The issue we are facing right now is due to our unusually dry summer," the fire district said. "As we enter the fall season residents should use extreme caution while outside. It does not take much to start a fire in these dry conditions. The natural cover on the ground is extremely dry and the leaves are falling in the woods.
"These conditions are a recipe for disaster."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Wildfire levels Missouri town amid rash of natural cover fires
