Brush fire in DuPage County preserve comes within 200-300 feet of homes

Brush fires in the East Branch Forest Preserve reached within 200 to 300 feet of homes off Liberty Drive Sunday night in Glendale Heights, fire officials said.

Chris Wilson, a battalion chief at the Bloomingdale Fire Protection District, said when first responders arrived on the scene at 6:30 p.m. to find two separate fires. He said the blazes were west of the Swift Road entrance to the DuPage County Forest Preserve near the east branch of the DuPage River,

Wilson said crews worked well together to contain both brush fires and move them back to their points of origin.

Wilson said one fire is believed to have started on the west side of the creek before it jumped across the creek, which is around 10 feet wide at that point.

Wilson said no one was injured by the fire, and it caused no property damage. He said all that burned was prairie grass.

The fire was fought by the Bloomingdale Fire Protection District, Glenside Fire District, Addison Fire Protection District and the Wheaton Fire Department, which brought a vehicle specifically designed to fight brush fires, Wilson said.