Controlled Burn Gets Out of Control in Mullins Prairie

What started out as an effort to burn some tall grass left standing from last year's hay crop turned into an out-of-control blaze on Friday, Feb. 12, at the Dopslauph Farm in Mullins Prairie.

The property owner said he plowed a strip of dirt around the pasture before setting the field on fire. He said some embers jumped over the fire break when the wind suddenly changed directions around 3 p.m.

Fire started burning in an adjacent pasture and ignited a row of hay bales. La Grange Volunteer Fire Department responded with two grass trucks and a tanker. Firefighters brought the blaze under control and cleared the scene around 4:30 p.m.