Two juveniles suffered minor burns after they were off-roading in an SUV and caught the car and several acres of wildland on fire at the Ray Lake Forest Preserve near Mundelein Tuesday.
The Wauconda Fire District and Lake County Forest Preserves Ranger Police Department responded around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to the area of North Gilmer Road and West Erhart Road in unincorporated Grayslake for a report of a grass fire.
Two juveniles were reportedly off-roading in an SUV when it got stuck and caught the SUV and the grass on fire in a field at the Ray Lake Forest Preserve.
Wauconda Fire District Battalion Chief Adam Schlick said that firefighters spent 15 to 20 minutes accessing the fire because it was about 1,000 feet from the road and 500 feet from a nearby driveway to a home in the 24000 block of West Erhart Road.
Firefighters stretched long hose lines from the nearby residential property and worked to stop the fire from spreading further.
Crews spent about an hour extinguishing the fire, Schlick said.
A water tender from the Wauconda Fire District, an extra ambulance from the Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District, a brush truck from the Countryside Fire Protection District and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to assist with operations.
The two juveniles who were in the SUV approached firefighters with minor burn injuries.
Emergency crews were not able to get in contact with one of the juvenile’s parents or guardians, so they were taken to the hospital. The other juvenile was evaluated but not transported to the hospital.
The SUV was a total loss, and approximately three and a half acres of forest preserve property burned, Schlick added.
The fire was not near any structures.
Schlick said that enough of the grass was already wet, which helped prevent the fire from becoming out of control.
Lake & McHenry County Scanner has reached out to the Lake County Forest Preserves Ranger Police for more information on the incident.