Wind and sparks cause wildfires in Benton County

Several timber and brush fires burned Wednesday in Benton County with high wind and arcing electrical lines credited with starting two of the larger fires.

Pea Ridge residents on Carroll Electric were without power for several hours.

Pea Ridge and Bella Vista fire departments were called to assist the Bentonville Fire Department with a fire at 13300 Stoneridge Way for a fire ignited by a downed power line on Ford Springs Road, said Brent Boydston, Bentonville fire chief.

The wind blew a tree into a power line, and the downed line started a fire that burned 10 to 15 acres, Boydston said. The fire was mostly in the hills between Ford Springs Road and Plentywood Farms subdivision, southwest of Lake Bella Vista. It took firefighters four hours to contain the fire.

Wind was gusting 30 to 50 mph, and the humidity was dropping, both factors that worked against firefighters, Boydston said. A bulldozer from the Arkansas Department of Forestry was used to cut a fire line around the blaze to help contain it.

Marc Trollinger, Benton County fire marshal, heard reports of seven fires Wednesday started by downed power lines. There was plenty of fuel to start a fire with piles of fallen leaves on the ground, Trollinger said.

In Avoca, Fire Chief Frankie Elliot said at least seven acres burned in a fire reported just before 5 p.m. in a wooded area close to Beaver Lake near 9818 Holt Drive. One house was in danger, but the fire was in brush under the trees, Elliot said.

The fire was difficult to extinguish because of the constantly changing wind direction, he said. The woods didn’t catch fire, although firefighters had to down some dead trees that did catch fire.

Avoca, Northeast Benton County, Pea Ridge and Beaver Lake fire departments were at the fire for more than three hours, Elliot said.