HALSEY – Crews spent Wednesday and Thursday fighting a new fire at the Bessey Ranger District near Halsey.
According to a release, the Natick Fire was 50% contained as of Thursday and had burned an estimated 1,800 acres. The blaze is just west of the area where the Bovee Fire scorched nearly 19,000 acres last fall.
Region 26 Emergency management said about 70 people have been fighting the fire from departments in Thedford, Halsey, Brownlee, Seneca, Brewster, Purdum, Dunning, Anselmo, Tryon, Mullen and Stapleton in coordination with the National Forest Fire Service.
The Bessey Ranger District has temporarily closed Forest Road (FR) 212 starting from HWY 86B Spur to the “Four Corners” where FR 212 meets FR 203. The Ranger District Office remains open as normal.
The fire began Wednesday afternoon near the Natick Campground on the western side of the forest.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
