ARCHBALD, Pa. — Deep in the woods, fire crews were using off-road vehicles to haul in water any way they could to battle a forest fire that started early Thursday morning in Archbald.
"Chief Harvey's in the back. He's got everything under operations under control. He's got most of the fire knocked down. We're just waiting to get the hot spots cleaned up, and then we can get out of here," said the Chief of Meredith Hose Company, Tony Aileo. "We have all of our tankers here for water supply because there's no water, no hydrants up this way. So we have to be ready for it."
Officials say the fire's location and unseasonably warm temperatures contributed to its spread.
"It's, it's off the beaten path. A lot of footwork; we've got to get in there and use our feet to get all the way around the fire," said Chris Layau.
Layau and other Department of Conservation and Natural Resources members were assisting local crews. He says minimal rain, along with wilting trees, has led to a busy fall fire season.
"We've been seeing a lot more in the last, I'd say, week and a half to two weeks has really picked up for us here, and a lot of it has to do with the grass is drying out," said Layau. "Now, we're seeing some warmer temperatures, and with the leaf drop and dry grass, everything's lining up for wildfire conditions to be just ripe here."
Until conditions change, Layaou and officials are asking the public to think twice before burning.
"We haven't had rain in weeks, and we don't really have significant rainfall in the forecast coming up for the foreseeable future right now. So I would refrain from burning anything at all."
Officials in nearby Jermyn have issued a burn ban in the borough until further notice.