Crews tackle brush fires

DUNCANSVILLE - Fire crews from the region were busy Saturday trying to snuff out stubborn brush fires along an Allegheny Township mountainside.

They were still at it late Saturday, with crews confirming earlier that they were dealing with at least three fires - one of them "very large" - in the township, where thick, white smoke was visible as far away as the Gallitzin area.

Blair County 911 officials said firefighters from six stations were still on scene as of 10:45 p.m. and were expected to remain there overnight.

A 911 supervisor confirmed that as many as a dozen stations from Cambria and Blair counties responded to the fires earlier in the day.

In Allegheny Township, state Bureau of Forestry helicopters were used in an effort to extinguish the larger fires. They could be spotted flying overhead near Route 22, where a fire was smoldering above the Main Line railroad tracks, Sugar Run Road and not far from the Horseshoe Curve National Historic Site.

Responders at the scene had to haul their gear up miles of narrow, rocky dirt roads to get to the hot spots, adding to the challenge.

Firefighters from Allegheny Township and other crews referred questions to a state forestry fire inspector who was at the scene Saturday and could not be reached for comment.

There were several other reported brush fires across the region.

A Blair County 911 Supervisor said the department received a call about "a very large brush fire" at 2:54 p.m.

By 5:40 p.m., fire crews reported that more than 100 firefighters from about a dozen departments were battling the blazes.

The fire appeared to be concentrated in one area as of 11:30 p.m.

Officials from 911 said the cause of the fires was officially unknown, but weather may have been the primary factor. Much of Blair County saw temperatures into the mid-70s all day.

Spring is peak forest fire season.

State Department of Conservation & Natural Resources forest fire protection officials held a press conference in Clearfield County late last week, reminding residents to be cautious this spring. They said March to mid-May is their busiest time of year because of low humidity, and trees and brush are often dry.