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Brush fire near Long Grove burned 18 acres; blamed on illegal fireworks
Maps
Updated: October 24, 2012 10:06PM
LONG GROVE— A brush fire that took firefighters about seven hours and 20,000 gallons of water to extinguish — and burned about 18 acres of a dried-up lake bed — Wednesday night was caused by the use of illegal fireworks, fire officials say.
One male was taken in for questioning by the Lake County Sheriff’s Department and Long Grove police. The fire remains under investigation.
About 4 p.m. Wednesday, the Long Grove Fire Protection District was dispatched to 3448 Hidden Valley Road in Long Grove for a brush fire.
The fire district sent a brush fire truck, but firefighters reported a rapidly growing brush fire in the rear of a home that could have spread to neighboring buildings.
Before it was over, more than 30 fire departments and districts sent engines, tankers, brush trucks, ambulances and command vehicles. About 20,000 gallons of water were used to contain and extinguish the fire.
A specialized wildland firefighting team, the Lake and McHenry counties Wildland Fire Task Force responded with specialized equipment. One firefighter was taken from the scene to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington for a heat-related illness, the fire district said in a news release.
The 18 acres that burned was basically a dried-up lakebed/wetland, the release said. Adjacent to the burned-out area were residential subdivisions.
No structures were damaged. The last firefighters left the scene at 11 p.m.
