Frank Sojak
fsojak@tribdem.com
JOHNSTOWN —
A quick response by area firefighters – with help from an airplane tanker – contained damage from a wildfire on a steep hillside between Johnstown and Daisytown to less than 10 acres.
The fire was reported around 3:15 p.m. Friday and extinguished by 5:30.
District Judge Leonard Grecek, who lives in Daisytown near the hillside, said the firefighters and a state Department of Forestry crew did a good job.
“The pilot was unbelievable,” Grecek said, adding that it was amazing how low the air tanker flew into the valley to drop water on the fire.
Cover Hill fire Chief Ted Partsch said the wildfire started on Bruce Street in the city and spread about 2,500 feet up the mountain toward Daisytown.
The blaze was about 300 feet wide, he said.
Firefighters from the city and several volunteer companies used hand lines and hand tools to fight the fire, Cover Hill Assistant Chief Brian Partsch said.
The air tanker was a big help by putting out the main portion of the fire, he said.
James K. Bloom, a forest fire specialist supervisor for the forestry bureau, said firefighters are the backbone of the bureau’s firefighting efforts.
“The volunteers and city firefighters hit the fire before it got big,” he said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, Bloom said.
