County dodged bullet with weekend brush fire

Smokey Bear has been warning people about the dangers of wildfires since the 1940s, but carelessness or a lack of preparedness still leads to millions of acres being burned each year.

Franklin County got a taste of what these fires can do last weekend when a brush fire got out of hand, damaging roughly 250 acres and destroying two houses along Highway 24 East.

Fortunately the Tharptown Volunteer Fire Department was able to get the blaze under control before any more damage was done.

Residents of Franklin County need to exercise extreme caution when burning since the county, and much of the state, are in near drought-like conditions.

It does not take long for a fire to get out of hand. If one of these fires is not responded to quickly enough, it will cause much more damage.

Check with local officials before starting any fires and follow their recommendations on how to keep it under control.

The damage was well contained this time, but next time area residents might not be so lucky.