PROVIDENCE, KY (WFIE) -
Authorities call Sunday's wildfire in Webster County suspicious.
It happened along Highway 109 in Providence. Fire crews are still there keeping an eye on hot spots tonight, and investigators are trying to find out exactly what started it.
As the sun came up over Providence, Kentucky, remnants of Sunday's thick black smoke was still in the air.
"If smoke gets bad like it did yesterday, we'll close down north Broadway again, also known as 120," said Chief Brent McDowell with Providence Police.
Although fire crews left the burning field late Sunday night, Providence Police and the Kentucky Division of Forestry continued to monitor smoldering patches.
"We're doing what's called mop up where we monitor the edge of the fire and make sure we don't have any burning material," said Tim Crowell with Kentucky Division of Forestry.
But fire officials say although the flames are gone, they're still up against mother nature.
"The humidity is down so we can work longer and harder, but with humidity down we're going to have more intense fire activity," Crowell said.
Another concern is the dangers this fire left behind.
"This fire did not burn clean so we have a lot of unburned fuel still inside the fire line. If any of that is close to the edge of the unburned material from last night then burning embers and flames could re-ignite and we could have further spread," Crowell said.
Investigators say at this point no one has found the fire's starting point.
"At this time it's still under investigation as to how it started or why it started. It's kind of suspicious since there wasn't a thunderstorms or anything going on like that and we need the rain," McDowell said.
Officials are asking motorists to still use caution while driving along Kentucky 109 and to report any flames if spotted along the way to the fire department. The county also issued a burn ban Monday afternoon.
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