Will County – Cook County – Homer Glen Brush Fire Update:

On Saturday April 3rd, the Northwest Homer Fire Protection District responded to multiple reports of a large brush fire out of control in the area of 135th and Hickory. We found an out-of-control brush fire burning on a National Weather Service No Burn warning day. There were no EPA burn permits issued for that area and no responsible parties conducting the fire. The weather that day was dry, winds in the 30-35 M/Hr. range which led to a difficult fire to control. The Northwest Homer fire district in conjunction with 14 other agencies, 54 firefighters, and 26 apparatus kept the fire within the grassy/brush area. This area was difficult to access due to its location surrounded by creeks and gulley’s. Our off-road brush equipment was unable to navigate over the waterways and fallen trees in the fire area. We maintained equipment to protect all homes in the area and at no time were anyone’s residents at risk. The firefighters dragged all their hoses into the area from distances between 500 and 1500 feet we thank all the resident that allowed us to access through their property to get closer to the fire. That day approximately 40-50 acres were on fire, we responded to multiple locations to access and had to return to extinguish hot spots in different areas. This fire was in a rural area with no fire hydrants all water used had to be trucked to the location. The fire was in a multiple jurisdictional area that encompassed Will and Cook County, The Village of Homer Glen, and unincorporated Lemont Township. We are working with several agencies including the Army Corps of Engineers, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Agency, Northwest Homer Fire Protection District, The Village of Homer Glen, Lemont Township, Cook County Building & Zoning Department, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Cook County Code Enforcement, and the Will County Sheriff’s Department to determine what can be done to eliminate the possibility of this happening again.