A wildfire caused large flames and smoke to erupt and spread quickly, prompting a second alarm call for the wildland firefighting task force in Waukegan Monday evening.
The Waukegan Fire Department and Waukegan Police Department responded around 7:30 p.m. Monday to a report of a brush fire on the city’s north side near the lakefront.
Multiple 911 calls were received reporting smoke and flames visible east of the Amstutz Expressway, according to Waukegan Fire Department Battalion Chief Todd Zupec.
Firefighters arrived to find a large brush fire in the area of Pershing Road and Dahringer Road.
Zupec said the fire was south of the intersection and spreading in size to the north, moving towards the NRG Waukegan Generating Station.
The incident was upgraded through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) to the second alarm level.
The upgrade prompted the response of fire departments from Lake County, McHenry County and Kenosha County.
It also prompted the response of the MABAS Wildland Task Force, Zupec said.
Waukegan firefighters deployed hose lines at multiple areas to try and contain the fire until the wildland team arrived, Zupec said.
Multiple brush trucks and UTV vehicles were deployed to the area to extinguish the fire.
The fire was mostly contained by approximately 8:30 p.m., Zupec said.
Firefighters remained on the scene for approximately another hour, ensuring remaining hot spot fires were extinguished.
Drones were used to get an aerial view of the fire.
Several ComEd field employees responded to tend to power poles that were damaged by the fire.
Some power outages were reported in Waukegan but were resolved later Monday evening.
Zupec said he did not have an exact idea of how large the fire was but said it was at least several acres. No injuries were reported.
The Metra Police Department also responded because the fires were near railroad tracks.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Waukegan Fire Department.