Local fire department warns of recent brush fires caused by open burning

MECCA TWP., Ohio (WKBN) – The Mecca Township Volunteer Fire Department provided updates on several fires in a Facebook post from Thursday night.

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Firefighters said a fire along the west shoreline of Mosquito Lake, north of the bay located by Lil John's Campgrounds, has been burning for over two weeks.

Firefighters said they believe the fire was started by an unattended campfire that was left behind by hunters. "Hopefully the fire left behind was unintentional and the hunters believed the fire was extinguished prior to leaving," the post read.

The post said that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Management has been monitoring and working in the area to contain the fire for the past two days. Firefighters said the fire remains in the root base of the vegetation and the peat moss continues to smolder and produce smoke in the area. ODNR has been working to create fire breaks to keep the fire from spreading from the affected area, and ODNR will continue to monitor the situation, according to the post.

Firefighters said that Mecca, Bristol, Bloomfield, Greene, Johnston, Mesopotamia, and Orwell Fire Departments all assisted in containing this fire over the past couple of weeks. Trumbull County EMA also used its imaging drone.

In addition to this, two separate brush fires were caused by open burning, and they almost spread to multiple outbuildings, according to the fire department. The post states that the first fire was extinguished by the Mecca and Johnston fire departments. The second fire was extinguished by the Mecca and Cortland fire departments.

The Mecca Township Volunteer Fire Department is asking people not to burn during these weather conditions.