No one was injured after firefighters fought a several-acre marshland fire and stopped it from spreading to houses at the Saddlebrook Farms subdivision near Grayslake Monday evening.
The Grayslake Fire District and Round Lake Park Police Department responded around 6:45 p.m. Monday to the 2400 block of Stallion Court in Round Lake Park for a report of a brush fire.
The area is the Saddlebrook Farms subdivision, located in the southern part of Round Lake Park but covered by the Grayslake Fire Protection District.
The first arriving fire engine crew found an active 2-3 acre fire in the marshland behind homes, Grayslake Battalion Fire Chief Ian Mandigo said.
“Due to the size and potential threat to nearby homes, the incident was upgraded, and a MABAS Box Alarm was requested to bring in additional fire suppression resources and specialized wildland personnel,” Mandigo said.
The fire was advancing toward nearby homes, but firefighters were able to coordinate and stop the spread.
Crews utilized brush trucks, backpack water pumps, and hand tools like brush fire brooms, to control and extinguish the fire within about 20 minutes, Mandigo said.
No injuries were reported and no buildings were damaged.
The majority of the fire appeared to have been concentrated north of Horseshoe Court and Stallion Court, south of the Campbell Airport, and east of the Manitou Creek.
The Fox Lake, Mundelein, Countryside, Greater Round Lake, Zion, North Chicago, Lake Zurich, Libertyville, Lake Bluff, Lake Villa, and Antioch fire departments, along with wildland firefighters from MABAS Divisions 4 and 5, assisted at the scene and with providing station coverage for the Grayslake Fire Protection District.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Grayslake Fire Protection District.