More than 140 firefighters from 19 fire departments in four counties were called upon to battle a grass fire that Brussels-Union-Gardner Fire Chief Curt Vandertie said was the biggest wildland fire the department has faced in his 28 years there.

The fire started the afternoon of Oct. 28 and burned 65 to 70 acres of land in the Town of Gardner. Emergency services received a call at 2:51 p.m. that day from person whose ATV caught fire in a wooded area with tall marsh grass off Gravel Pit Road, about a quarter-mile east of the intersection of County C and N.

Vandertie said the grass and woods subsequently caught fire as well, and an easterly wind and dry conditions caused the fire to spread and jump across County C.

"First-arriving units on the scene found heavy black smoke and the east si

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