Park County Rural Fire District #1 battled and contained nearly 30 spot fires in three separate incidents along a rail line operated by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of last week.
The span of incidents began with an emergency call describing a fire along the rails, east of Livingston, about 5 p.m., Aug. 2.
“The fire was very active with minimal to no wind, 100-degree temperatures, and around 10% humidity,” said Dann Babcox, fire chief of Park County Rural Fire District #1.
In some places, the flames reportedly reached as high as 8 feet.
Babcox said his agency, which provided a wildland fire engine, and the Park County Sheriff’s Office, which supplied hand tools and water extinguishers, were both instrumental in putting out the fire that burned 4 acres. Babcox detailed superheated carbon emissions from locomotive smokestacks as the likely cause of the blaze.
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A fouled exhaust system or spark arrester on locomotives can cause fires, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A spark arrester prevents the emission of carbon and other flammable debris from a locomotive’s combustion source. The arrester must be cleaned every 10 days, per the forest service.
“Indications of poor maintenance include carbon or oil around the lip of the exhaust stack…oil or unburned fuel on top of the locomotive. Poor maintenance may also be reflected by an overall appearance of being uncared for and rundown,” reads a guide from the USDA’s forest service technology development program.
Last weekend Park County Rural Fire District #1 received an emergency page detailing 15 individual fires over a 2-mile stretch on a similar section of railway at 5:30 a.m., Aug. 3. The fire was contained by 6:15 a.m. Fire crews spent several hours mopping up the embers.
“It is unknown what was wrong with the locomotive that time,” Babcox said.
Firefighters then responded to approximately 10 fires along a 9-mile stretch of rail, on the outskirts of Livingston at 2:43 p.m., Aug. 4. The blaze occurred parallel to U.S. Interstate 90 eastbound, between mile markers 336 and 345, from Livingston HealthCare past Mission Creek.
Some 40 personnel and 22 vehicles from Park County Rural Fire District #1, the County Road Department, Paradise Valley Fire, Wilsall Fire District, Livingston Fire and Rescue, Clyde Park Rural Fire District #2, the Forest Service, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail crews responded.
The blaze was contained by 4 p.m., and burned 15 acres.
