GOSHEN — How dry is it?
So dry that one of the largest grass fires Goshen police and firefighters reported ever seeing in a neighborhood broke out on the south side Thursday.
A grass fire damaged five lawns and two homes in the Crosshaven Court area on the city’s south side. Firefighters responded a report of a grass fire at 1620 Crosshaven Court just before noon.
The fire spread to neighboring lawns, including Stephen Clayton’s lawn at 1532 Crosshaven Court.
“I can’t begin to say what caused it, but you can tell a lack of caution almost caused a lot of damage,” Clayton said at the scene.
Alyssa Hoogenboom, speaking in front of her home, said that when she first saw the fire she ran outside and started spraying her garden hose on it to prevent it from spreading to her home.
“It was getting close to the house,” she said.
Battalion Chief Rick Kauffman said city firefighters were on the scene until 1:07 p.m. He said vinyl siding on the south side of the home at 2920 Leana Drive will have to be replaced, and a vinyl fence was damaged, too. A couple of vinyl pieces were also damaged at the home at 1620 Crosshaven Court.
Kauffman said a cause of the lawn fires hasn’t been determined, but the fire started from the edge of the road.
At 3:20 p.m. Thursday, Goshen firefighters were dispatched to a smaller grass fire in the 400 block of River Avenue. Two lawns sustained damage in that incident, as did a Northern Indiana Public Service Co. pole. Firefighters believe a property owner burning trash sparked that fire.
Given the arid local conditions, Kauffman encouraged caution as a way to prevent fires.
“Just be careful,” he said. “It’s just so incredibly dry.”
Local News
Related Photos
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A grass fire originating at 1620 Crosshaven Court in Goshen, affected four neighboring lawns Thursday but caused minimal damage to homes and other property. The Goshen Fire Department is investigating the cause. SAM HOUSEHOLDER | THE GOSHEN NEWS
Fire torches five yards in southeast Goshen
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