WINSTON COUNTY -Fire departments from Haleyville, Craft and Bear Creek battled more than flames at a structure fire late Wednesday night, March 30, during severe storms that blew through the area. Fire departments were toned out to a structure fire on Walnut Avenue near Alabama Avenue, arriving to find an old wooden house with tin roof fully involved, noted Haleyville Acting Fire Chief Terrell Baccus. Fire departments applied a total of around 20,000 gallons to suppress the blaze then checked for hotspots, Baccus stated. However, firefighters had battled high winds which helped fuel the fire, according to Baccus. “The fire was driven by the wind,” he said. “The wind was feeding the fire. You couldn't get anywhere near the house without having to put an air pack on.” No injuries were reported at the scene. Firefighters also fought the blaze during heavy rainfall from the storms. Fire departments cleared the scene at 11:59 p.m., according to Baccus. Cause of the fire had not been determined. Elsewhere in the county, Double Springs battled a brush fire near the post office during high winds ahead of the storms, but the fire was contributed to weather but rather a discarded cigarette, noted Lt. Erik Gilbreath of the DS Fire Department. Winston County Emergency Management Director A.J. Brown reported trees and power lines down across the county due to high winds. Also, two boat docks on Smith Lake received minor damage, Brown added. Winston County had been placed under a tornado watch along with 25 other state counties due to the possibility of tornadoes in the high wind storm event, authorities said. However, no tornadoes were confirmed in Winston County. The watch was reportedly lifted around midnight.
See complete story in the Northwest Alabamian.
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