(Chadwick) (AP) – Officials in southwestern Missouri say a fire in the Mark Twain National Forest has been mostly contained after charring more than 1,200 acres.
About 25 homes were evacuated after the fire began Thursday. Christian County Sheriff Joey Kyle says it started when a farmer’s brush-clearing equipment hit a rock and created a spark. Kyle says one structure was damaged.
KOLR-TV reports firefighters set up a bulldozer line late Thursday and lit smaller fires to keep the flames from crossing state Highway 125. A thick haze of smoke hung over the area Friday near the town of Chadwick.
Crews from neighboring counties helped fight the blaze. It was one of several that have broken out in the 1.5 million-acre forest during the recent spell of hot, dry weather.