A pile of railroad ties in Mt. Vernon somehow caught on fire and sent black smoke into the air, causing residents and businesses in the area to lose power.
Crews say dozens of those ties went up in flames just before noon on Tuesday near the intersection of State Road 62 and Leonard Road, just feet away from the railroad tracks.
Even though fire crews don't know for sure what caused the fire, a spark from a passing train they say, is a possibility.
Fire crews from multiple departments used water and then foam to put out the fire which burned for nearly two hours, but the good news is the fire did not spread.
Posey County is under a burn ban and Fire Chief Wes Dixon says the danger of any fire is that it could get out of hand.
Any field, as we've been seeing, holds the potential to quickly burn due to these extreme drought conditions.
He says people need to take these dangers seriously and the fire potential is growing.
"Given these conditions, extremely dangerous. I know throughout the county they've had some issues with brush fires, accidental brush fires and this one could have been much worse," Dixon said.
After crews crews contained the pile of ties, they were worried about a couple of power poles that were close to the fire. They cut power to the area, in case those poles gave way.
The fire marshal's office is investigating. Meanwhile, fire crews are reminding everyone to take the fire threat very seriously as it only gets worse as this week continues.
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Source: Viewer photo
Fire is located near the intersection of SR 62 and Leonard Road
