Steeleville, Percy firefighters battle brush fire

PERCY -- A 10-acre brush fire kept Steeleville and Percy firefighters busy for several hours on Saturday afternoon in the rock pile area of Percy Road.

According to Percy firefighter Trenton Fisk, landowner Lou Jordan was burning brush out of a corner of a field, thought he had the fire contained and left it.

"The wind caught some of the embers and caught more than he bargained for on fire," Fisk said.

Fisk said the Percy Fire Department received the call around 3 p.m., with Steeleville being paged for mutual aid. Firefighters remained on scene for about three hours.

"They got there and they had to cut a gate lock to get in," said Steeleville Fire Chief Rich Reitz. "It's all ex-coal mine property."