No injuries in Wednesday wildland fire in Plover

By Brandi Makuski

Nearly a dozen fire department were called to south Plover on April 12 to help extinguish a large brush fire that ultimately burned through three acres of vegetation.

A resident at Plover Pine Village , 2601 Forest Dr., called 911 at 12:25 p.m. on Wednesday to report a large brush fire in a field behind the mobile home park. Assisting Plover firefighters was DNR Fire, and crews from Stevens Point, Hull, Grand Rapids, Amherst, Stockton, Bancroft, and Rudolph fire departments.

The UW-Stevens Point fire crews was also on the scene. The Portage Co. ambulance service had a rehab team on site and Plover police officers assisted with crowd control and road closures.

Plover Chief Mark Deaver said Wednesday was a “red flag” day, meaning no burning is allowed due to extreme dry conditions. He said the cause of the fire was likely accidental but the cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

Firefighting activities included heavy equipment earthmovers, handheld shovels, and hoses spraying water. The fire originated in an area where park owners typically burn wood and other items.

Sgt. Brent Thauer from the Plover Police Department confirmed there were no injuries.

Several crews were called away during the three-hour scene, including a man who was injured by a lawnmower blade and the smell of natural gas near Roosevelt Elementary School. The latter turned out to be a false alarm.

Following the Plover fire, crews were called to a home on the 500 block of Old Wausau Rd. for a structure fire. Firefighters quickly discovered the source of thee smoke was a sump pump problem. Plover and DNR fire crews were called back to the Forest Dr. scene at about 4:10 p.m. to address some hotspots.

At press, crews across Portage Co. were still busy at various calls for vegetation fires. Residents are asked to use extreme caution and avoid any burning.