A National Guard helicopter drops water on the Bunker fire in Calhoun County on Wednesday, Sept. 16. Photo: Arkansas National Guard
Crews worked through the weekend to extinguish hot spots from a wildfire near a Camden industrial park where several military contractors are located.
As of Friday night, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture reported the Bunker Fire was 75% contained after burning more than 2,800 acres.
State and federal resources were called in to battle the blaze, which began Monday near Highland Industrial Park.
Arkansas National Guard helicopters have been used to drop thousands of gallons of water at a time on the fire. Additional support from National Guard crews from Oklahoma and Mississippi continued through the weekend. The out-of-state crews were expected to remain through Monday.
Camden Municipal Airport reported Saturday night that 59 bucket drops had been completed that day, delivering an estimated 83,200 gallons of water. On Friday, 97 drops were made, dumping more than 100,000 gallons of water.
Crews have worked long hours since the fire began, often through the night. Beginning Tuesday, bulldozers were used to create firebreaks around the blaze, removing dry vegetation that could fuel the fire.
“A fire break, essentially, is putting a gap in between one section of the forest and the other,” Arkansas National Guard Staff Sgt. Christian Clark said in a video statement on Wednesday. “The fuel is anything that can burn all the dry leaves, all the pine needles, the trees. So you’re just trying to push up everything, and just leaving exposed dirt, get rid of all the roots, and trying to stop [the fire] from being able to jump.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant for the Bunker Fire. Such grants can reimburse eligible firefighting costs, including expenses for personnel, equipment and supplies. Calhoun and Ouachita counties were designated for assistance.
No injuries or property damage have been reported.
On Friday, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced that $750,000 from the Governor’s Disaster Response and Recovery Fund would be available to the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management for the state’s response to wildfires.
The entire state remained at high wildfire danger as of Sunday, with dry conditions allowing fires to ignite easily and spread quickly. Burn bans were in place in 70 of the state’s 75 counties, including every county in the southern half of Arkansas.
Veteran reporter, editor and manager at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
