SWANTON, Vt. -
High winds made fighting a forest fire difficult in Swanton Friday afternoon.
Crews from St. Albans City, St. Albans Town and Sheldon responded to a fast-moving fire off Fairfield Pond Road. The blaze started at a nearby rock quarry where fire officials say someone was burning a pile of freshly cut logs. High winds carried the embers into the woods, burning at least six acres. Crews used ATVs to get hoses into the woods in an attempt to knock down the 20-30 foot flames.
"It's very difficult, especially in this kind of terrain. You can't get the hoses up there because you can't get trucks up there. Your hoses only reach so far, so most of it is using rakes, brooms and cutting fire lines using chainsaws and stuff. It's a lot of man labor to contain these," Swanton Assistant Fire Chief Travis Greeno said.
Although a burn ban was not in effect, fire officials say whoever was burning the logs did not have a permit.
