ROLLA—After several days of battling the Sugar Fire in dry fuels and strong, gusty winds, firefighters were given a Halloween treat in the form of rain moving through the area Wednesday night. After successful firing operations on the south line helped secure the flanks Wednesday, the rain provided the necessary cooling that firefighters needed to tie in control line around the fire.
Now that the fire is 100 percent contained, personnel will continue to monitor it over the next couple days to ensure it does not start to spread again. Using GPS, the fire was mapped yesterday to be a total of 1,611 acres in size. People need to continue to be cautious when driving in the area where the fire occurred. Some of the trees that died along the road and trails can and will fall over time.
Ava/Cassville/Willow Springs’ District Ranger, Cody Lunsford, shared, “I want to thank the businesses and individuals in and around Ava that showed so much support for our firefighters during their wildfire response—it kept their spirits high during some challenging conditions.”